The Truth Shall Set You Free
by ElectronSurge
Summary: Between Lila's manipulations, the stress of being a hero and exhaustion taking its toll, Marinette feels cornered. Her little white lies start to unravel her secrets instead of protecting them. Being more truthful wouldn't help, would it? Meanwhile Adrien gets hotter, Cat Noir grows muscles and Chloe starts maturing.
1. Underweight?

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.

Marinette felt uncomfortable sitting on the examination table. Her family's GP was currently examining a jar of her pee for a second time. The coincidences that led to this situation were quite embarrassing.

Over the course of three days the week prior, Marinette had excused herself from the same class three times to use the bathroom to transform into Ladybug and fight akumas. The only thing was that she never actually used the toilet in those visits. When class resumed later after the akumas were dealt with, Marinette had needed to go for real on those three occasions.

The teacher had accommodated her requests but after the third time a note was sent home to Marinette's parents. The note explained that her bathroom habits were odd and disrupted the class. In spite of this her habits didn't affect the quality of Marinette's work. It suggested that Marinette be checked by a doctor for a bladder infection or other problems.

Dr Médecin frowned and turned to her computer then to Marinette's mother and then to Marinette. The doctor stood up and explained her findings, "The urine sample shows no indication of infection and Marinette seems healthy otherwise. However, I want to send the sample off to the lab for further testing."

Marinette's mother nodded attentively. Marinette quickly hopped off the examination table. "Does this mean we can go? I'd like to get back to school." Marinette's flustered look and impatient mood did not go unnoticed by the doctor.

"Not yet," Dr Médecin continued, "There's something else I'd like to discuss."

"But I…" Marinette tried to interrupt.

"I thought you said my daughter was healthy. Is something wrong?" Mrs. Dupain-Cheng questioned with alarm.

"I couldn't find anything giving Marinette the symptoms of an infected bladder, but during the general check up I gained insight to a more pressing concern." The doctor handed Marinette's mother a file of Marinette's medical history. "Marinette has lost several kilos since her last check up and is even more underweight."

Shock and confusion spread across Mrs. Dupain-Cheng's face. "But we increased her caloric intake, we had teachers monitoring her eating habits at school, we were maintaining a healthy weight!"

"This is why doctors suggest follow ups and regular check ups. We spot things parents miss." Dr. Médecin admonished. Marinette was long overdue for a checkup. "I suspect you are excessively exercising, Marinette. You haven't been truthful about how active you are with your parents, have you?"

Marinette knew she had to stop this thread of conversation. Her sudden weight loss would line up with Chameleon and the higher frequency of akumas since then. More questions would lead them to discovering she was Ladybug.

"I...I'm perfectly fine," she stuttered,"I…I'm just petite."

"This isn't the first time I've dealt with a stressed teen putting up a front for their parents and friends." The doctor countered. "You're not just underweight, Marinette, you're also suffering from a lack of sleep and exhaustion. The makeup doesn't fool me and we need to treat this now before it gets worse."

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng stared closely at her daughter and moved in for a frightened hug. "Honey, why didn't you tell us you were struggling? It must be bad if you're wearing makeup. You never wear makeup."

"Mum, I'm not struggling," Marinette insisted once more as she irritably extracted herself from the hug. "It's just that I want my crush to like me!"

The doctor and Marinette's mother exchanged a look. Marinette's mother spoke in a solemn tone, "Dear, you shouldn't have to make yourself lose so much weight to make him like you."

"I'm not doing it deliberately; it just sort of happened." Marinette didn't want them to think she had a self image problem but neither did she want them to figure out she was Ladybug. However, her panicked outburst was the wrong thing to say.

Her mum put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You knew you were losing weight and didn't ask for help?"

Why wouldn't they leave her alone already? Marinette brushed her mother's hand away in annoyance. "I knew you'd react like this. I have it under control. I'm okay, really!"

"No, you don't have it under control and you're not ok." Doctor Médecin stopped Marinette from interrupting her and continued, "We need you to understand how serious this is, Marinette. Step on the scales again, measure yourself against the giraffe on the wall then find where your weight and height meet on the BMI chart."

Marinette scowled sullenly but did as instructed. She didn't care right now what her mum thought of her rebellious teen tantrum. She might cop it later for her attitude but it didn't matter. Marinette was in a sour mood from all the prodding and poking of the physical exam and being embarrassed by both the doctor and her mother.

Marinette stepped on the scales and took her reading. She dramatically made a show of sliding a hand along her head and twisting to see the result as she stood next to the childish giraffe picture. Then she slowly dragged her finger across the corresponding chart for her age group.

'Girls are supposed to be lighter than boys, right?' Marinette thought absently as her finger got closer to the final destination. Her finger reached the correct point. "Oh," was all she said.

Fifteen minutes later Marinette was outside her school in her mother's car with a new dietary regimen and a doctor's note excusing her from strenuous physical activity. She roughly grabbed her backpack and opened the car door. As she stepped out of the car her mother lightly touched her hand.

"Marinette,you know you can talk to me if you're struggling don't you?" Her mother asked carefully.

Marinette slung her backpack across her back and crossed her arms. "I know."

"We'll get this right this time. You'll see." Her mother tried to reassure her. "I know you're feeling embarrassed right now, but…"

"I'm feeling a bit more than that!" Marinette scoffed crossly. "I'm angry, I'm upset and I'm frustrated. What are my friends going to think? They're all going to make fun of me!"

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng smiled to try one last time to cheer up her daughter. "You have good friends here. I'm sure they'll understand. If they don't, if they make fun of you then they need to grow up and learn some manners if they want you to consider them your friends."

"It's not just that," Marinette mumbled under her breath. "Why couldn't we have gone to the doctor after school. Then I wouldn't have had to face my friends until the next day."

Her mother shook her head. "Sweetie, you know how hard it would have been with the bakery. We didn't know what was wrong or how serious it was. It was best to get there as early as we could to find out the problem."

The lunch bell rang behind Marinette. She had missed all her morning classes. "All it's done is give Lila more ammo." Marinette muttered quietly not intending her mum to hear.

She heard anyway. "Honey, is there something you need to tell me?" She asked causing Marinette to tense up.

"No, leave me alone!" Marinette yelled as she turned around and stumbled up the stairs and through the school entrance.


	2. Food Fight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Marinette could feel the eyes of her classmates watching her as she entered the cafeteria. Everyone else was already sitting down. Marinette grabbed a lunch tray and approached the cafeteria lady.

She showed the bulky woman the note with the doctor's requirements for her lunch. The lady nodded and served the required food onto Marinette's tray. Marinette paid for her lunch and the cafeteria lady smiled at her. "Doc's right. You need it and don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

"Thanks," Marinette said meekly with a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Marinette searched for a table to eat at. Lila had gathered some of her followers with an enthralling story about Ladybug at one table. This group included Alya, Rose, Juleka, Nathaniel and Sabrina.

Marinette couldn't hide her disappointment in Alya. As an aspiring journalist Alya should have known better than to take Lila's exaggerated tales at face value. Instead she was placing the burden of proof on Marinette. Unfortunately, Alya wouldn't accept anything less than all of Lila's lies being disproved as evidence of her deceit. Marinette hadn't yet found a way to dispute the claims about Ladybug without Lila inventing another excuse.

Marinette couldn't really fault Rose. The kind girl believed the best in everyone and could be a little naive. Juleka was shy and just followed Rose and her friends around. Marinette didn't know what Juleka thought of Lila, but it seemed like she was going along with the lies. Nathaniel was enraptured by Lila's tales probably because of his crush on Ladybug. As long as Lila espoused Ladybug's greatness he would stay that way.

Lila had Sabrina wrapped around her finger tighter than Chloe. Speaking of Chloe, she was sitting on her own and fuming every time Sabrina doted on Lila. Marinette didn't dare approach the grumpy drama queen.

Since not everyone could fit at Lila's table, Alix, Max and Kim were seated at the closest table to hers. They were having a discussion about some reckless stunt or amazing feat. They were putting more effort into listening to Lila judging by the pauses mid sentence.

Ivan, Mylène, Nino and Adrien were sitting at the fourth table. It sounded like Adrien was getting dating advice from the couple, probably about Kagami. Nino kept trying to get Adrien to move to Alya's table but his heart wasn't in it.

Sitting with Adrien was a tempting idea, but Marinette worried Nino might start an argument on his girlfriend's behalf in support of Lila. Max, Alix and Kim were an option but their proximity to Lila could cause some tension. Chloe was out of the question for obvious reasons. That left sitting on her own as far away as she could get from Lila.

Of course no sooner than Marinette had sat down and had a few mouthfuls of her lunch did Alya wander over with an accusing glare. Marinette didn't bother looking up. It was best to ignore Alya when she got like this. Lila had probably filled Alya's head with some extravagant lie to make her look bad.

"Where were you this morning?" Alya demanded, arms crossed against her chest.

"At the doctor's as you perfectly well know," Marinette replied in a bored tone, "It took a little longer than expected." Then sarcastically she added, "Do you want my doctor's note for proof or is that too much to ask for?"

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Alya growled.

Marinette took a bite of her sandwich and almost gagged. She chewed carefully and swallowed before responding with a raised eyebrow. "I could say the same to you."

Alya scowled at her. '_Is that supposed to be intimidating?' _Marinette thought. '_I'm Ladybug for crying out loud! You have to do better than that.'_

Alya pointed to Marinette's lunch tray. "What's with the unhealthy stack of food on there?"

That was ironic. Marinette's tray consisted of the chicken sandwich she was munching her way through, a light salad, an apple, a cupful of nuts and a glass of orange juice. The tray Marinette had seen Lila with on the other hand had a bowl of saucy, cheesy pasta, a large chocolate chip muffin and a glass of chocolate milk. Marinette might have more food than the liar but it was far from unhealthy.

"I'm hungry," Marinette simply said and then as an afterthought she added, "It's not the quantity that counts, it's the quality."

Something didn't add up. Marinette glanced over to the other side of the cafeteria. Lila's triumphant smirk showed that Alya had an ulterior motive. "Are you implying something?" Marinette asked defensively.

"Lila couldn't afford to buy lunch. She gave all her allowance to charity." Alya insisted as if that explained her intentions. Mildly annoyed, Marinette stared at Alya to get her to continue. "Don't be a selfish greedy glutton; give Lila something off your tray." Alya made her demand.

"That's nonsense." Marinette was shocked to say the least. "From what I can see, Lila has already been donated plenty. If she really needs more perhaps the rest of your group should chip in."

Alya angrily slammed her hands down on Marinette's table. "Not all of us have extra to give! You do!"

"I…" Marinette opened her mouth to rebut Alay but before she could a snarky voice from behind came to her defense.

"Back off, Césaire!" Marinette turned in her seat to see Chloe yell at Alya. "I saw her give a note to the cafeteria lady. This is her dietary requirements."

"Oh, please," Alya scoffed. "She went to the doctor for a bladder infection, not a change in diet."

Alya shouldn't have known that. The only people who should have been aware of the reason for Marinette's appointment were herself, her parents, the doctor and her teacher who suggested it. Clearly, Lila was spreading rumors and accurate ones at that.

"That was confidential." Marinette muttered. "The bladder infection was a false alarm. There's something else wrong with me though."

Alya was about to spout her disbelief but Chloe stopped her. "Don't make a scene, Césaire. It isn't like Marinette is faking a sprained ankle."

Enraged, Alya pointed an accusing finger at Chloe. "How dare you…"

Chloe examined her fingernails pretentiously as she interrupted Alya without hesitation. "...Insinuate that Marinette is lying to gain false sympathy. That is totally unlike her. She'd never take advantage of her friends over an injury or medical issue. If she fell down the stairs and dislocated her shoulder she would probably walk it off without a second thought."

The message was clear. Marinette had actually tried to walk off a dislocated shoulder once before. Ms. Mendeleiev had to practically drag Marinette to the nurse's office after noticing her unusually sloppy handwriting. Marinette wouldn't abuse her friends' generosity, Lila on the other hand...

After her initial stun wore off Alya didn't take kindly to Chloe's message. She addressed Marinette with an attempt at a tone of disappointment but came off rather aggressive. "So you're buddy-buddy with the school bully now. Don't you care about your friends?"

Marinette sighed. Chloe's defense was nice but unnecessary. She could have handled Alya on her own. Alya wanted to make her choose between Lila and Chloe. This was a choice that Marinette could make in a heartbeat. "From where I'm sitting, it's hard to see the difference between a friend and a bully. It used to be so clear, but now I can't tell which is which."

"We'll see how far she gets you." Alya sneered at Marinette and Chloe and stormed off.

Marinette went back to eating her food. Chloe watched her for a second then made a decision. Chloe walked off to get her lunch, came back and sat across from Marinette.

"Social pariahs should stick together." Chloe explained at Marinette's irritated stare.

"Defending me doesn't make you my friend." Marinette stated disinterestedly.

"I believe 'thank you, Chloe' are the words you're looking for." Chloe said imitating Marinette's voice.

"You didn't need to antagonise Alya further." Marinette countered after swallowing a mouthful of juice. "I could have handled her alone. I suppose that kind of damage to our friendship was inevitable. I just hope it's not irreversible."

"I get it. You still think I'm a bully." Chloe slouched into a downcast posture.

"No, I…" Marinette tried to protest.

"It's ok. You said yourself that you couldn't see a difference between a friend and a bully." Chloe faked a smile to falter Marinette's efforts.

They ate the rest of their lunch in silence. Several times Marinette wanted to express her gratitude to Chloe or encourage her to cheer her up but she couldn't find the words. They finished but Chloe didn't stand up.

"I'm sorry!" She suddenly exclaimed.

"Sorry for what?" Marinette asked.

"I'm sorry for the last time this happened." Chloe explained with a tear in her eye. "I kept calling you 'fatty'. I only stopped because mum explained eating disorders to me. I didn't realize how much you could be hurt and I should have apologized back then!"

Chloe had figured out Marinette's weight loss problem and from so little information as well. Marinette has always had a rocky relationship staying the line between healthy weight and underweight. Last time it got dangerous Marinette had been starving herself to fit into a new dress after a growth spurt. She had nearly been diagnosed with an eating disorder as a result. Her parents had to buy the same dress in a bigger size to finally convince her to eat properly.

Chloe's insults at the time had aggravated the problem. Obviously her modeling mother had a word with her because the insults had suddenly stopped. Shortly after Marinette had been able to get back on track to a healthy weight. This time, however, it wasn't all about eating properly. Marinette needed to let Chloe know so she didn't despair.

"Don't worry, Chloe, it's because I'm doing too much and not because of how much I eat." Marinette hugged the upset blonde.

"You're ok?" Chloe sniffled.

"I'm ok." Marinette didn't let go yet. "I just need to slow down and keep track of what I feed myself."

Chloe's tears were contagious. Marinette found herself letting out her own too. The two teens sat embraced together while the warning bells for afternoon classes rang around them.

**Author's Note: I have an edit ready for chapter 1. It's just a few missing words and a sentence or two. No need to reread, they're only small changes.**

**The Truth Shall Set You Free is set sometime after Chameleon, Kwamibuster and Desperada but before Ladybug. I didn't really like the way Chloe was portrayed in the season 3 finale and Alya needs some consequences for her actions over the course of the season. That being said, this is not a bashing fic and they will both get a redemption arc.**


	3. Lila's Sleepover Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Adrien saw Marinette's argument with Alya. That was an understatement; after Alya slammed her hands on the table half the cafeteria watched on as Chloe tore into her on behalf of Marinette. Nobody saw that twist coming but Adrien really should have.

He knew the argument was already brewing when Alya walked over to Marinette with a vitriolic sense of justice fueled by Lila snide comments. Adrien tried to work up the courage to interfere but worried it would backfire on him. One or both girls would probably hate him whichever way he got the fight to stop regardless of who was right.

Adrien could have negotiated a compromise but he doubted Marinette's stubbornness would have seen it as a good outcome. Marinette would almost certainly have only given in to appease him. On the other hand Alya would have believed any leeway for Marinette to be unfairly insensitive to Lila.

Grounding himself completely on either side of the argument could have been even worse. If Adrien wasn't ostracized for siding with Marinette, then she would take the fall and have her character be degraded further. Siding with Alya would leave Marinette distraught at the betrayal and vulnerable to being akumatized.

He hadn't expected Chloe to take the choice right out from under his feet. Chloe despised Marinette after all. Of course, Adrien hadn't realised that Lila had made the girls kindred spirits by turning them both into social outcasts.

All things said and done, Adrien worried that Chloe's defense of Marinette would have repercussions. Chloe didn't have much of a reputation to begin with. She might drag down Marinette's already flailing reputation with her own.

It didn't help that Marinette and Chloe had entered every class since lunch together as if they had some sort of truce between them. Alya was clearly agitated by this. Of course, Lila took full advantage of the situation by pretending to soothe Alya.

She insisted Marinette would see the light when Chloe backstabbed her with her bullying ways. Ironically, it only served to fuel Alya's temper as despite her anger at Marinette she wished no harm upon the other girl. Adrien was beginning to worry they might have an akuma on their hands at a moment's notice. Lila stacking the deck in favour of another confrontation only increased its certainty.

Adrien attempted to keep an eye on both girl duos for the rest of the school day. When everyone gathered on the school steps after classes ended to make plans to meet up, he was ready to leap behind a bush to quietly transform. It all went down when Marinette struck up a conversation with Chloe.

"Hey, Chloe, can you come to the bakery at six on Friday night?" Marinette eagerly asked, swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

Alya caught wind of the question before Chloe could respond. "Friday night is the sleepover, remember?"

Marinette frowned; she could not recall any such event in her calendar. "What sleepover?"

Alya rolled her eyes at Marinette. Adrien assumed this was an indicator of a lack of surprise at Marinette's absent minded ignorance. "You know, the one Lila organized. She emailed all the invites weeks ago!"

Marinette tensed up uneasily and checked her phone. No one could miss a warning sign like that. Adrien said his goodbyes to Nino and made his move to hide behind the bush and continue to eavesdrop. No sooner he was hidden than when Marinette spoke again. "I have nothing about a sleepover in my inbox. If it wasn't so close I could come but it's too short notice now. I have a backlog of homework to complete."

'_Strange,' _Adrien thought. '_It's surprising that Marinette struggles with her homework. She's only ever asked for an extension once that I know of.'_ It was true, apart from the week when there were twenty akumas Marinette had always completed her homework on time. To be fair no one finished their homework that week.

Alya crossed her arms indignantly. "You're just making up excuses because you don't like Lila."

Adrien sneaked a peek at Lila from behind the bush. To any ordinary student the girl might have looked timid and pitiful but to him there was an air of arrogance and triumph in her pose. '_This isn't just a dumb lie for attention! She's actively trying to pin blame on Marinette!' _He realized in horror that Lila must have planned the sleepover as a trap.

As if on cue a single crocodile tear slipped down Lila's face. "I wondered why I never get responses from you, Marinette. You just put all my emails in your spam folder, or worse you blocked me, didn't you?"

To her credit Marinette remained composed despite Alya's scandalous glare. "Alya, I have tried to avoid confrontations with Lila in school to minimize awkwardness, but I still interact with you and the others outside of school. I have no reason 'yet' to stop Lila from emailing me. If this has been planned for weeks why didn't anybody bring it up with me before now?"

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like Marinette had predicted a scenario like this.

He should have known Marinette wouldn't fall for Lila's trap so easily.

Marinette was establishing that she still wanted to be friends with her classmates but their ineffectual communication was widening the gap between them. Furthermore Marinette's inability to attend the sleepover was on her friends' failure not hers. Lila had simply seen the opportunity in Marinette's isolation and was attempting to use it to exclude her from social activities. The worst part was that if she had succeeded Lila would still have come out looking like the good guy.

Alya was still stuck on the Chloe thing, however, and had no intention of listening. "If you have no time for a sleepover with your friends why are you hanging out with Chloe on Friday night?"

By the angry growl coming from Chloe, Adrien could see Alya's implication had pushed the wrong buttons. An akuma was inevitable with emotions running high like this; he signaled Plagg to get ready. As the little black kwami popped out of his shirt Chloe snapped out a retort at Alya. "What's your grudge, Césaire? You're acting like a whiny jealous toddler!"

Sure enough a black and purple butterfly was flitting towards the school. From behind the bush Adrien whispered, "Plagg, claws out!" Fully transformed Cat Noir returned his attention to the conversation while dialing Ladybug on his baton phone.

Marinette noticed the butterfly too. She laid a calming hand on Chloe's shoulder. Then she spoke to Alya, "You were there when Ms. Mendeleiev assigned Chloe and I to the same project. I have other responsibilities. Friday night is the only time I'm going to have this week to do my homework and work on the project with Chloe. All we'll be doing is studying."

Alya refused to budge and stared Marinette down. "You can do your homework on the weekend. Come to the sleepover."

Cat Noir groaned behind the bush. His call to Ladybug went straight to voicemail. He redialled and hoped for better luck while he surveyed the location of the butterfly.

It hovered between Marinette and Alya undecided on who had the stronger negative emotions. Cat Noir could have sworn Lila was gleefully creeping closer to the evil butterfly. Suddenly, the butterfly flew downward towards Marinette's and Alya's wrists.

Marinette broke the stare off. "I have to help my parents in the bakery all weekend. I'm sorry I can't come to the sleepover but I'll come to the next event, provided I get ample notice." Marinette shook her head to clear her thoughts and made to turn around. "If you don't mind, I'm going home now."

"We're not done here!" Alya yelled and roughly grabbed Marinette by the wrist.

Cat Noir knew he couldn't waste any more time waiting for Ladybug. If he could use his cataclysm on the butterfly he could stop the akuma before the fight even started. He'd never done that before but there was a first time for everything. Leaping into action he exclaimed, "Cataclysm!"

"Alya!" Marinette gasped in shock at the violent tactic her friend had taken at the same time as Cat Noir started bolting towards them. Marinette tugged herself out of Alya's grasp but as she did so Alya's hand caught on her charm bracelet. The bracelet snapped off Marinette's wrist as they stumbled back from each other. Without hesitation the butterfly merged with the bracelet.

He was too late! Cat Noir narrowly avoided accidentally using his cataclysm on Alya only to stagger directly into a light post. The light post disintegrated into ash. As Hawkmoth's butterfly symbol appeared over Alya's face one thought passed through his mind. '_Uh Oh!'_

**Author's Note: Adrien is going to regret not getting more involved instead of using superpowers as a solution for every problem. **

**I initially had a random akuma planned but then chapter 2 got away from me and I realized Alya got first dibs. Alya just wants Marinette to be nice to Lila and is tired of her 'excuses'. She thinks Chloe is still a bully and is too stubborn to see Lila slowly manipulating her into being one. **

**I have one more clarification. Chloe never actually agreed to the time for the study night in this chapter but even if she doesn't later, Marinette would still have too much homework to go to the sleepover.**

**A prompt for fellow Miraculous writers: **AU where Ladybug insists on using the Fox Miraculous even when it isn't ideal for the situation. It could possibly be an attempt by Marinette to get Alya away from Lila. Cat Noir thinks she is addicted to the illusion powers and comes up with some crazy conspiracy theories. He even incorrectly believes Ladybug is Kagami.

Ladybug refuses to hear his guess and Cat Noir proposes a reveal if she finds him irresistible in their civilian forms. With her crush Kagami can't resist Adrien. Marinette despairs when she soon sees Adrien and Kagami's relationship developing.

Acting on advice from Adrien as Cat Noir, Luka makes efforts to woo Marinette. As part of the AU, Luka and Cat Noir have never been in the same place at the same time apart from the advice conversation. Marinette jumps to conclusions and rejects Luka on the basis of the false belief that he is Cat Noir.

It is open ended to the final pairing but there is definitely a dramatic reveal. Everything gets hectic. Adrien and Marinette are oblivious to the fact they're confusing everyone.


	4. Alya Akumatized

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Marinette trembled. This was very bad. The timer on Cat Noir's ring had already started beeping, she had nowhere to transform safely and her friend had Hawkmoth's glowing butterfly symbol over her face.

"Don't let Hawkmoth deceive you, Alya!" Marinette called out to her friend. Alya blankly stared ahead unresponsive. Hawkmoth's butterflies had never failed before, but Marinette still held out hope. She continued attempting to catch Alya's attention, "Don't let him turn this into something it's not. Think about what Ladybug would want."

"Don't distort the truth!" Lila yelled deviously. "This is all your fault, Marinette. Ladybug will be so mad when she sees what you did to Alya!"

A dark bubbly mass consumed Alya starting with Marinette's charm bracelet. Cat Noir ran over and pushed Marinette and Lila away from Alya. Cat Noir glared darkly at Lila. "From what I heard Alya was upset because she thinks Marinette has a higher opinion of Chloe than you. You used your sleepover to manipulate and fuel the grudges between yourself, Marinette, Chloe and Alya. So don't pretend you're innocent, Lila."

The purple mass around Alya dissipated to reveal her akumatized form. A black mask covered her eyes and she wore a spandex suit in the same tone. White gloves and boots were on her hands and feet and they had three black stripes before meeting the rest of the costume. A white line circled Alya's waistband with an on/off symbol in the center and finally a bright neon purple wifi symbol emblazoned her chest.

"My name is Lady Wifi! If Marinette is too blind to see why she should hangout with Lila and I instead of Chloe then I'll live stream Chloe's flaws to the whole world!" Alya raised her phone and pointed it at Chloe.

She pressed a button and a purple beam shot towards her target. Before Chloe could get hit Cat Noir grabbed her, extended his baton and pole vaulted away. "Don't worry, I'll come back for you!" He shouted to Marinette as they flung off into the distance.

Marinette's eyes darted frantically for a way to escape. Everything depended on how predictable Lila could be. It didn't seem like Alya wanted to target Marinette but Lila might take advantage of akuma memory gaps and change that. If she did, it would be even harder for Marinette to get away and transform into Ladybug.

"There's no need to fight, Lady Wifi. I'm sure Ladybug will clear this all up when she arrives. She'll show Marinette exactly what Chloe is." Lila crossed her arms and smirked at Marinette.

Alya hesitated instead of making a move to chase down Cat Noir and Chloe. Marinette almost took the opportunity to flee, but something in what Lila said made her hesitate as well. Lila's usual game plan for akumas involved subtly interfering to escalate the struggle for Ladybug and Cat Noir. To an outside observer it would seem like Lila wanted Ladybug to arrive and talk down Alya, but Marinette knew better.

As the dots in her mind connected confusion spread across Marinette's features and she frowned at Lila. '_Why would Lila want to be in the same place as Ladybug at the same time?'_

It defied all common sense and logic. Lila despised Ladybug as much as she did Marinette. If Ladybug appeared while Lila was still around then she could contradict the lie that Lila was her best friend. Sure, Chloe had messed up from time to time to Ladybug's ire, but banking on those instances wouldn't help Lila's since Marinette was Ladybug.

"We all have flaws but that doesn't mean we can't be good people. Remember Heroes' Day? If Ladybug can give Chloe a second chance then so can I!" Marinette declared victoriously.

Lila seemed amused by Marinette's enthusiasm but was nevertheless undeterred by the other girl's moment of victory. "That was a mistake. Ladybug knows now that Chloe is too dangerous to be allowed to wield the power of a miraculous. Even if she didn't, it goes both ways. I'm Ladybug's best friend. You can't give Chloe a chance and not give me one."

"You're wrong; Chloe helped Ladybug. Either Ladybug doesn't trust you as much as you think she does or you're lying. Also, Cat Noir rebuked you. If Ladybug is your friend, you should have his respect." Marinette swiftly countered Lila's argument just as she realized what Lila was attempting to draw out from Alya.

"I've been nothing but nice to you since I got here. Chloe has bullied everyone for years, yet you still take her side over your friend's. I'm right and Ladybug will agree with me." Lila asserted with a hint of uncertainty that betrayed her doubt of being able to pull off her scheme.

Marinette concluded that, after Alya was eventually deakumatized, Lila intended to antagonize Alya towards Ladybug. While Alya wouldn't remember this conversation as Lady Wifi, Lila could still incite her to anger afterwards with the same arguments. Even now the conflict and anger was showing on Alya's akumatized face as she rapidly glanced between Marinette and Lila.

Finally, Alya made the resolution that Marinette suspected from Lila's manipulations. "If Ladybug and Cat Noir think Chloe is a good person then they don't deserve to wield their miraculous!"

"Targeting Chloe won't get you anywhere. I know her flaws. Ladybug knows her flaws. Everyone knows her flaws. We associate with her anyway." Marinette had a plan. She had to get away from Lila to transform but she couldn't let Alya chase after Cat Noir and Chloe. However, she could bait Alya by riling her up. "Show us why Lila is better. It should be easy. If she is so kind and generous as she claims to be then she shouldn't have many flaws to expose."

Alya became enraged. "I have a better idea. I'll target everyone who has ever been nice to Chloe starting with you! All of Paris will see that being friends with Chloe is a huge mistake!"

Alya pointed her phone at Marinette, but Marinette was ready for her. Using martial arts taught to her by her mother Marinette kicked the phone out of Lady Wifi's hand and in the opposite direction of Lila. The phone clattered to the ground while Marinette grabbed Lady Wifi in a hold and pulled her towards it.

If she had pulled this off right then one of Lady Wifi's powers from previous akumatizations should activate. Marinette was rewarded with a bright light bursting from the phone. The next thing she knew they were both on the Eiffel Tower leaving Lila behind.

A shocked crowd of tourists jumped back as the duo magically appeared from one of their phones. They quickly scrambled away screaming as they made the connection that Lady Wifi was an akuma. While Alya was still disorientated Marinette made her get away, blending with the crowd as she disappeared into a corner.

The little ladybug kwami, Tikki, flew out of Marinette's purse. "This is not good! We'd better transform quickly!"

Marinette nodded. "Tikki, Spots On!"

Red light washed over Marinette transforming her into Ladybug. Ladybug immediately noticed her yoyo beeping. She opened it to see five missed calls from Cat Noir. It explained why Tikki had been vibrating so much in her purse before.

Ladybug peeked around the corner to check on Alya's position. The akumatized girl was storming about as she sought for Marinette. Every few seconds she ranted about showing Chloe's true self to the world. Ladybug quickly video-called Cat Noir.

Cat picked up almost instantly. "Hey, Milady, nice of you to get in touch. We have an akuma on the loose."

"Sorry, Kitty, I got stuck in civilian form." Ladybug said with a hint of a blush to throw her partner off the scent of a missing Marinette. She continued with enough truth to feign ignorance, "I'm on the Eiffel Tower. Lady Wifi just appeared up here out of nowhere. Is that what you're mewing about?"

Cat grinned cheekily at the pun. "I was on the scene when it happened; Alya was jealous of Chloe and Marinette being friendly with each other and a certain 'someone' tried to take advantage of it."

Ladybug hears an indignant 'Hey!' from Lila in the background and a scolding 'Stay out of this!' from Cat Noir as he scowls offscreen towards Lila. She peeked out from her hiding place again. "Can you get here soon? Alya is getting restless. I have to intervene before she does something rash."

"Purrty soon." Cat punned. "Is Marinette with you? I came back for her but she isn't here."

Ladybug shook her head in the negative. "Marinette and Lady Wifi were together when they appeared. Clever girl escaped in the confusion. I need to go."

"See you there, Bugaboo, but we need to talk later." Cat Noir had an air of annoyance about him as he delivered the farewell. Likely Lila was trying to stir up trouble again.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at the nickname and ended the call. She could deal with Lila later. Right now she had to focus on Alya.

Ladybug rushed out and flung her yoyo at Lady Wifi's right arm tangling it in string. "Teaming up with Hawkmoth won't sort out your issues with your friends, Alya. Give up the akuma!"

Lady Wifi growled at her entanglement. "It's Lady Wifi! And not until Chloe and Marinette are shown the error of their ways. Chloe is a bully and Marinette is allowing her to get away with it. Tell me where they are!" She shouted at Ladybug.

Ladybug's eyes searched Alya's costume for her bracelet, the akumatized object. It was on Alya's left wrist. The damaged bracelet must have wrapped itself there during the akumatization process.

Ladybug subtly circled to Alya's left side while she negotiated. "Chloe and Marinette are under my protection. Chloe can be difficult but that doesn't mean she should be humiliated in front of all of Paris. You should find a better way to make everyone friends again."

Lady Wifi's struggles began to loosen the string tightened around her arm. "There is no other way! If you try to stop me I'll take your Miraculous!"

"That's Hawkmoth talking. A few kind words and a willingness to listen will work a whole lot better than this violently hostile criticism." Ladybug knew it was a little too much to hope for that Alya would let her get close enough to purify the akuma. It might be a risk but keeping her talking might be worth the effort. If she could stall long enough for Cat Noir to arrive they would have the advantage.

"You want me to listen when neither you or Marinette will? You're a hypocrite!" Lady WIfi yelled angrily. She broke free of the yoyo's restraints and fired two beams with pause symbols at Ladybug.

Ladybug retracted her yoyo and dodged the beams. "Have you considered that maybe Marinette feels the same way."

That comment earned a barrage of pause beams pushing Ladybug to the limits to evade. Alya was no longer interested in talking and sent a variety of beams at Ladybug to defeat her. The beams were rewind, loop and the new flaw live stream, but Ladybug avoided every one of them.

This went on for a few minutes before Cat Noir finally arrived. He sailed in on his baton with a whoop of excitement. He was just in time to save Ladybug from a loop beam as she clumsily tripped over thin air.

"Now that I've entered the fray, it's time for this stray kitty to play." Cat Noir swung his baton at Lady Wifi's legs only for Lady Wifi to jump out the way.

"Thanks, Cat Noir!" Ladybug expressed her gratitude at the last second save. "Think you can distract Alya long enough for me to call my Lucky Charm?"

"Of course," Cat Noir said with a wink and a smile. "Throw up your string; I've got just the thing."

He leapt at Lady Wifi again with a cry of 'Cataclysm'. Ladybug rolled her eyes at Cat Noir's punning while he continually swiped at Lady Wifi's phone to the akumatized girl's frustration. Ladybug spun her yoyo up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"

A box of beads and string fell from above her. Ladybug caught it delicately and looked around for a way to use it. The spotted pattern of her suit flashed over Alya, Cat Noir, herself, Cat's baton and the box of beads and string. She couldn't make sense of the connection between the three of them and the items.

Then Ladybug saw Cat Noir deflect a strike from Lady Wifi. She realized that the beads were for afterwards. Ladybug quickly called out to Cat Noir. "Extend your baton!"

Cat Noir immediately did as commanded and the baton connected with Lady Wifi's midsection knocking her down and winding her. Ladybug ran over, took the bracelet and broke it. The evil purple butterfly came flying out.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug exclaimed and snatched the butterfly out of the air. She opened her yoyo and let the newly purified butterfly out. "Bye, bye little butterfly."

Lady Wifi transformed back into Alya as she was deakumatized. Alya had a moment to take in where she was and then she freaked. "Oh, no! I was akumatized! Marinette is going to hate me!"

"Relax, pretty much everyone from your school has been akumatized. I'm sure Marinette won't hold it against you." Cat Noir tried to calm her down.

"Not Marinette," Alya panicked. "I told her off for not helping Lila at lunch and then after school for wanting to hang out with Chloe. Hawkmoth akumatizes people when they get called out for their mistakes."

"Who told you that?" Ladybug demanded sharply. "It has nothing to do with mistakes. Hawkmoth goes after people who are struggling to control their emotions as you should well know already."

"Lila told me. She said that's what you told her." Alya stated with confusion written across her face in such a way that confirmed Ladybug's fear.

"I overheard your argument today. Hawkmoth could have taken advantage of the emotions rolling off all four of you, Lila included." Cat Noir added helpfully.

Ladybug eyed the box of beads and string and came to a decision. "Cat, I need to speak with Alya alone."

"What about the cure?" Cat asked hesitantly.

Without a word Ladybug removed the beads and string she needed from the box. Then she threw the box up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The cure fixed everything that had been broken, reverted everything that had changed and restored everything that had been misplaced. Oddly enough the only exception was Marinette's damaged bracelet. Ladybug grabbed it along with the beads and string from the box and offered Alya a hand. "C'mon, Alya, Marinette might be more forgiving if you repair her bracelet."

"You'll transform back soon." Cat Noir warned Ladybug as their Miraculous beeped.

"I think I can trust Alya not to peek." Ladybug cooly replied. Alya nodded quietly in affirmation.

"Ok, I can see when I'm not wanted." Cat waved his hands apologetically. He departed with a cheeky wink at Ladybug. "Catch you next time, Bugaboo!"

Alya watched him disappear then turned to Ladybug. "Isn't Lila your best friend?"

Ladybug shook her with a sigh. "I'm afraid I haven't done my due diligence clearing some things up."

**Author's note: Didn't want to split this chapter so we have a monster that is a third the length of the fic so far. You're welcome. Next time, Alya has a heart to heart with Ladybug, Marinette forgets to let her parents know about the akuma and gets home late and Marinette's parents put the foot down.**

**As for where Cat Noir disappeared to during this chapter, he took Chloe to her room at her father's hotel but forgot that his cheese snack for Plagg was in his school bag back at the school. He had to rush around and find some cheese to transform again. By the time he went back to rescue Marinette from Alya, they had already teleported to the Eiffel Tower.**

**On another note: I'm not sure how many of my readers have watched the cartoon. Some stuff might be confusing if you haven't seen it. This takes place vaguely within the third season of the series but is heavily altered. There's probably a lot of spoilers in here.**


	5. Denials and Discussions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

As Ladybug, Marinette set Alya to the task of repairing her bracelet. While Alya was focused on the bracelet, she ducked behind a support beam and let her transformation go. Marinette took a deep breath and counted to ten to calm herself.

After Tikki ate her snack she shot Marinette a questioning look. Marinette mouthed 'no' to the kwami. Tikki shrugged as if she expected that answer.

Marinette transformed back to Ladybug, rejoined Alya and sat down. She inspected Alya's handiwork and smiled. "Looks like it's almost as good as new."

"Almost," Alya frowned. To Marinette she seemed unsure of herself. "How did you know the bracelet was Marinette's?"

"Cat Noir visits her. She may have gushed to him about a birthday present she received from a friend." Ladybug explained. It was true. She had nearly spilled her crush on Adrien to Cat Noir before her brain caught up with her mouth.

"You visit people?" Alya asked with curiosity.

"Cat Noir does. I haven't felt that particular inclination. I don't want to get too involved with civilians as Ladybug." Ladybug said with hesitation that showed her insecurity.

"Is Lila a special case then?" Alya followed up as she put the finished bracelet down.

"Yes and no," Ladybug paused for a moment then ploughed on with her story, "I made a mistake in not contacting you earlier. For all I know I could have saved her before, but I didn't officially meet Lila until after your interview went up on the Ladyblog. I caught her telling tall tales to my crush in a park and introduced myself."

Alya listened intently until Ladybug stopped. Her face dropped at the mention of Lila's deceptions. Ladybug blushed in embarrassment and continued, "I was angry and a little bit jealous. I may have come down on Lila too harshly. I came to my senses later and apologised. I forgave her and offered friendship if she would forgive me and make up for her wrongs."

Alya seemed relieved. "She's still best friends with you then? I don't have to take down the interview."

Ladybug tensed uneasily. "I said we could be friends, not 'best' friends. I shouldn't have let this go on for months."

"What...what are you saying?" Alya stuttered holding back a tear.

"I'm sorry, Alya, I should have come to you immediately after I saw the interview and told you to take it down. You should never have put it up without consulting me first." Ladybug apologised to Alya and admonished her at the same time.

"Because she isn't really your friend?" Alya tried to get a hint.

"Because...Because it was dangerous. Hawkmoth saw right through her but what if someone else with malicious intentions didn't? They might hurt Lila or anyone connected to her to get at me." Ladybug trembled as her own feelings began to overwhelm her. "I know it will damage your reputation but you have to take the interview down. I'm happy to be a friend to anyone that considers me one, but I will no longer tolerate endangering other people so someone can get their fifteen minutes of fame."

Alya nodded as if she understood yet exuded uncertainty. "What about Chloe? She bullies and manipulates people for attention. She doesn't care if she causes an akuma."

"And Chloe caused your akumatization today?" Ladybug prompted Alya.

"Marinette made a bad excuse not to share her lunch with Lila at school today. Chloe backed her up and they had the audacity to call me a bully." Alya informed the hero.

"Why did Lila need Marinette to share her lunch?" Marinette already knew of course but Ladybug had to show she cared enough to listen before reprimanding Alya.

"Lila gave all her money to charity even though she isn't very wealthy. Some children go days without food in poor countries. I wanted to follow her example and make sure she didn't go without lunch." Alya rushed to explain.

Ladybug stopped Alya's rambling with another question. "Why did Marinette refuse to help?"

"Chloe claimed Marinette had dietary requirements, which Marinette implicitly agreed with. There's no way that makes sense because Marinette had more food not less. Besides she went to the doctor's for a bladder infection not a new diet." Alya stated with anger creeping into her voice again.

"Diets are more like guidelines for meal plans and exercise, not necessarily an intake of less food. Sometimes doctors find additional health problems to what their patients originally went to see them for." Ladybug corrected as gently as she could.

"But Marinette is as skinny as can be!" Alya argued. She pointed out Ladybug's slim figure to demonstrate her point. "She could give you a run for your money! I think Chloe is blackmailing her."

"Who said anything about losing weight?" Ladybug countered easily. Ladybug picked up the repaired bracelet and observed Alya's handiwork. Alya wanted to believe that Marinette's hostility towards Lila was because of Chloe's manipulations and not her own flaws, Marinette's flaws or Lila's flaws. It would be hard to convince her otherwise.

"I'm all for charity and being kind to the less fortunate. I'm not saying Lila is lying about her donations, but there is a difference between being generous and showing off." Ladybug sighed and continued, "I think everyone deserves a second chance even Chloe. Are you sure you haven't got this backwards?"

"What do you mean?" Alya asked hesitantly.

"You said you told Marinette off for wanting to hang out with Chloe after school, but that's not the full story. Cat Noir was on the scene. He told me that you were arguing and Lila fueled your argument." Ladybug explained.

"That's not true!" Alya denied vehemently. "Marinette refused to come to Lila's sleepover with an excuse about homework and a fake project with Chloe."

"Are you sure Marinette knew she was invited? She seems like the type to make time for fun in her schedule in advance. It doesn't sound like anyone thought to ask if she was coming." Ladybug inferred tactfully.

"Lila invited everyone weeks ago, but…" Alya trailed off as if she had begun to reach a conclusion she didn't like.

"What was that?" Ladybug wanted Alya to finish the line of reasoning herself out loud.

"Marinette denied getting an invite and Lila didn't want anyone to talk about the sleepover at school. She was afraid Chloe would crash it like her old bully did back in Italy." Alya explained.

"Couldn't you trust Marinette to keep quiet? Also, assuming Chloe did come uninvited, couldn't you and your friends stop her or send her home if she tried to ruin the sleepover?" Alya's stunned silence was all the proof Ladybug needed.

"The same thing happened to me with an all girls party a rival planned. She faked inviting me and silenced anyone who talked about the event with the excuse that the boys would crash and ruin it." Ladybug didn't mention that Chloe was the culprit who did this. It was before Alya came to Paris and wouldn't do any good to bring it up anyway. "I never found out about the party and looked really bad in front of my friends when I didn't turn up. It was a long time before I forgave her for manipulating them."

"But...but...she...Lila…" Alya stood up stammering indignantly.

"I'm happy to be Lila's friend even though she lied about it at first, I don't know if she exaggerated her donations to charity to show off, but I will not tolerate her manipulating people into being akumatized." Ladybug declared as she too stood up.

"Lila wouldn't do that!" Alya despaired in denial. "Chloe is much worse!"

Ladybug disagreed. "I'm not so sure but like I said before: everyone deserves a second chance. I think it's about time for an apology to Marinette."

Alya's gaze hardened. "Take me home."

Ladybug stepped back not expecting Alya's voice to be so harsh. "Ok, but don't leave it too long to apologise. Grudges only make things worse."

Ladybug was met with silence. Alya barely responded to her instructions to hold on tight as she prepared to swing them away. She sullenly uttered no sound for the entire trip to her home to Ladybug's dismay.

After dropping Alya off, Marinette swung to an alley near her home and de-transformed. She ran over to the front of the bakery only to find the lights off and the door locked. Marinette checked her watch anxiously.

It was after five already! She was in so much trouble! Marinette hurriedly used her key to let herself in. Immediately after relocking the door she heard her mother coming down the stairs.

"Marinette, where have you been?" She questioned in a tone that meant business.

"I got caught up in the akuma attack." Marinette justified her lateness. Then she tried to change the topic, "Is dinner ready, Mum? Can I have it in my room? I need to work on that dress for Clara Nightingale."

Marinette's mother stopped her from reaching the stairs and pointed to the tv playing in the background. Blurry footage of Lady Wifi and Marinette suddenly appearing atop the Eiffel Tower replayed over and over. "Don't try to fool me. I know the akuma was Alya and I know you escaped early on."

Marinette attempted to interrupt her mother, but the parent didn't let her daughter get a word in. She held up the house phone to show she had already been trying to locate Marinette. "I know you didn't go talk to Alya after the safe signal went out. If you came straight home from the tower you should have been here before half past four. What were you doing?"

"I guess in the adrenaline rush of my escape I ran too far in the opposite direction." Marinette mumbled an excuse.

"Clearly, you ran all the way home too." Her mother said having taken note of Marinette's shortened breaths and sweaty brow. "You should have called for help getting home. The doctor said you shouldn't over exert yourself."

"I…" All Marinette's excuses died in her throat as she touched a hand to her head. It felt wet. She hadn't thought the fight, getting Alya home and the short run here would take all that energy. She wasn't winning this argument. It would be best to accept whatever consequences came her away.

"Marinette, your father and I didn't want to do this, but you're giving us no option. If you won't call us for a lift when it's too far to walk in an emergency like today then we can't trust you to call for ordinary events." Mrs. Dupain-Cheng began her lecture. "From now on before we give you permission to go out with your friends for social events, you must give us a drop off and pick up time."

Marinette squirmed uneasily. This would make it much harder to get away from the bakery if she needed to for an akuma. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle though.

Her mother continued, "You're having an early night too. After that run you'll be worn out and need the extra sleep."

A surge of panic filled Marinette and she interrupted her mother without meaning to. "I need to work on Clara's dress tonight or I won't have time to finish it. It needs to be ready for Friday."

"It's okay, Marinette," Her mother switched to a calming tone. "I can call in Mindy to swap your Thursday this week with hers next week. Will that give you time to finish the dress?"

"Yes," Marinette admitted meekly.

"One more thing, when you go to the pool after shopping with your friends this Sunday, we will pick you up at four o clock."

"So I only get an hour of swimming?" What Marinette was really worried about was that she knew both Lila and Adrien would be there. Lila had made no secret of her lust for Adrien and Marinette's friends didn't seem to see the danger it presented.

"With all the walking around the shops it might still be more physical activity than the doctor recommended. I'd rather be safe than sorry." Her mother explained then turned to go up the stairs. "Your father should have dinner almost ready by now. Turn the tv off then we can eat together."

Marinette nodded, turned the tv off and followed her upstairs. By the time she and her mother set the table her father brought the cooked meal over. Dinner was a quiet affair other than the regular questions about her day, school and homework. Until her father asked what got Alya akumatized.

"I said I couldn't go to a sleepover on Friday night. She insisted I go and got mad enough for Hawk Moth to get to her." Marinette answered before eating another forkful of vegetables.

Mother and father shared a look of concern. "That would have been fine with us. You didn't have to say no."

Marinette shook her head. "My schedule is already full. Friday night is the best night to do all the homework due next week."

"Couldn't you do it earlier?" Her father asked sternly.

"I have a backlog of homework that's due this week. I was going to finish that and get some work done on Clara's dress tonight, but mum doesn't want me to stay up late." Marinette agitatedly explained her schedule. "Tomorrow night I promised to help the band set up for the charity concert and I need Wednesday and Thursday to put the finishing touches on Clara's dress."

"Did you tell Alya that your homework was more important?" Her mother prompted her when she paused.

"Yes, but the point is they didn't let me know about the sleepover until today. Lila supposedly invited me weeks ago but I never got an invite and nobody even talked about it happening. If they said something earlier I might have been able to reorganize so I could go." Marinette kept speaking faster to the point her frustration was causing her to ramble.

"Slow down, darling." Marinette's father chuckled and held her hand to calm her down. "You've mentioned this new girl, Lila before. You think she's some sort of show off and attention seeker, right?"

"She's a liar who takes advantage of other people's kindness and manipulates them." Marinette informed her parents. "I think Lila set up the sleepover to damage my reputation. Alya wasn't paying attention in Ms. Mendeleiev's class when she paired me with Chloe on a project. She freaked out when I invited Chloe to come over to work on it Friday night."

"Chloe isn't the nicest person to be around. If Alya doesn't believe you're right about Lila then I'm not surprised that she would be angry with you." Her mother commented.

"It actually started at lunch." Marinette added quietly. "Lila used Alya to pick on me indirectly and then Chloe stood up for me. After we got the project I thought I would be polite and invite her to show my gratitude."

Marinette tensed suddenly doubtful she had her parents' support. "I know I sound paranoid but I think Lila is polarising the class."

Her father swallowed and mumbled out a response but Marinette only heard the second half, "...The truth shall set you free."

"What was that, dad?" Marinette asked in confusion.

"Oh, Chloe knows you're a good person and that she was a bad person so she sees through Lila. Alya, and maybe your other classmates too, think they are good people because they dislike Chloe, a bad person." Her father responded point by point as he began to clear the table. "However, Lila claims to be a good person. So when they see you criticising Lila and being nice to Chloe they think something is wrong."

Marinette blinked. "I don't get it. What was the bit about the truth?"

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Her father supplied.

Marinette was still confused. "Is that some sort of instruction to always tell the truth."

"You're confusing her, Tom." Marinette's mum said with an amused grin.

"Sabine, my dear, it's a father's duty to depart wisdom in metaphors." Tom cheekily kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Always telling the truth is a good idea, but the truth we're referring to here is the difference between you and Lila." Sabine filled the sink with soapy water while Tom finished gathering the plates. "You're a good girl, Marinette. You try to make people happy and your actions produce good fruit."

"Good fruit?" Marinette questioned unsurely as she grabbed a towel to dry the clean dishes.

"A good tree produces only good fruit, a sick tree has to be pruned before it can produce good fruit, but a bad tree only produces bad fruit or none at all." Tom input while he put away the dry dishes.

"I know I'm good. Chloe's tree was sick but is being pruned because she believes me over Lila. Lila's tree is sick or bad and some of my friends' trees have become tangled in her branches and been infected." Marinette puzzled out her conundrum. "If I can show my friends Lila's fruits then they'll prune their trees."

"Exactly!" Her father exclaims. "By their fruits you will know them."

Marinette gathered her thoughts for a moment. "I need to do that homework and get ready for bed. May I be excused?"

"Go ahead, sweetie." Sabine gave her permission.

For the rest of the night Marinette pondered her parents' wisdom. By the time she was caught up with last week's homework two things they said stuck with her. '_You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. By their fruits you will know them.' _Marinette wondered how she could help her friends as she lay on her bed.

"Tiki," She drowsily called out to the little kwami. "What if I prune Chloe instead?"

Tiki hovered over Marinette's face. "What do you mean, Marinette"

"I've never been able to show Lila's fruit, bad or non-existent, anyway. However, if Chloe became a good person then Lila's shallow lies and empty promises would fall short of the fruit she could produce." Marinette concluded happily and closed her eyes.

"That might work." Tikki agreed but Marinette never heard her because she had already fallen asleep.

**Author's note: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." is a quote from Jesus found in the Gospel of John Chapter 8. Some of the people Jesus is talking to believe Him and some of them don't. Jesus roasts the ones that don't, saying they are servants to their evil ways because they don't know the truth about Him(He is the Son of God) and want to kill Him. **

"**By their fruits you shall know them." is another quote from Jesus. This one comes from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 7 in a discussion about false prophets. The bit about pruning also comes from John, this time from Chapter 15. Although I've kind of paraphrased it a bit, it describes the process by which God turns us into better people.**

**I hope I don't sound too preachy. I thought the first quote aptly fit the Lila situation and used it as my title. On the off chance anyone is interested in reading further, there's a website called biblegateway that is great for bible study.**

**What's next: A chapter split in two to cover Adrien and Alya plot points. Further along Lila pulls a swift one whenever she gets a chance, and contrary to her new goal Marinette finds herself telling a little white lie. Prologue Arc ends and Character Development Arc 1 begins.**


	6. The Amazing Kitty and Sinister Spider

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Adrien Agreste whooped and yelled in excitement through his morning run. Normally, a celebrity acting like this would draw way too much attention but when you're actually a local superhero jumping from rooftop to rooftop most people didn't bat an eye at your antics. Reactions usually consisted of snapping a quick photo, enthusiastic waves or squeals of delight from flirty fans.

Cat Noir stopped on a building to take a short break. He watched the cars and people mill about below him. Turning to face the Eiffel Tower he found it was west northwest of his current position.

Judging by the distance he should be standing on top of the Italian Embassy. Cat Noir briefly wondered if he would see Lila down there but dismissed it out of hand as unlikely. Cat Noir chanced a look only to be shocked when he actually saw Lila stepping out of an embassy car.

Immediately, his surprise was heightened by a teenager on a bicycle coming to a stop behind the car. He would have thought embassy security would be much tighter than to let a random girl get this close without authorization. Squinting Cat Noir realized the rider was none other than Alya. She was frantically gesturing at the other girl in a way that suggested an emotionally charged conversation. A moment of what he assumed was panicked back and forth before he saw Lila's mother exiting the car engaged in a phone call.

"That's odd." Cat Noir remarked. "If Ladybug cleared things up with her why is Alya in such a rush to talk to Lila?"

He didn't get to investigate for an answer to his question. His baton beeped an alarm. Ten minutes until his father's assistant came to wake him up for breakfast. Even with superpowers it would be a sprint to get home in time.

Cat Noir launched himself off the roof and hurried home. By the time he sneaked in through his bedroom window Natalie was already knocking on the door to wake him up. "Just a second!" He yelled out.

After he quietly de-transformed, Adrien swiftly grabbed his school bag and filled it with his textbooks. Plagg wordlessly flew into the mini-fridge to eat his Camembert snack in the meantime. Adrien rushed over to the door and opened it.

Nathalie was impeccably dressed as always. In one she held her ever present tablet and in the other arm a bundle of folders. Apparently impressed that Adrien had already gathered his things ready for school she addressed him with one raised eyebrow. "I see you're up. Good, your father wants to go over some upcoming changes to your schedule."

"We'll be eating together?" Adrien perked up.

Nathalie gave Adrien a sad little smile that said otherwise as she led him to the dining hall. Adrien's expression immediately became downcast and he followed Nathalie without another word. It should have come as no surprise. At this point even a ghost would manifest itself more than his father did.

While Adrien sat down to eat his breakfast, Nathalie set up the tablet for a video call with his father. When the device connected to his father's office, Nathalie flipped it to face Adrien.

His father appeared on the screen. "Good morning, Adrien." He said monotonously.

Adrien responded in kind. "Good morning, father. Wouldn't you rather talk face to face?"

His father's cold passive stare betrayed little emotion. "Are we not?"

"You're behind a screen." Adrien deadpanned.

A flash of impatience and irritation passed over his father's face. "I see no difference."

Adrien couldn't be bothered arguing with his father. "Never mind."

His father flipped open a file on his desk. "Let's get down to business. It has come to my attention that you are no longer Paris' #1 Teen Heartthrob."

"Hmm, maybe it will cut down on the mobs." Adrien mused. He didn't really care for the title or the hordes of crazy fangirls that came with it. "I suppose it isn't good for the brand. Who's the competition."

"The ridiculous cat boy who thinks he's a hero." The older Agreste explained distastefully. "Every week he stays at the top, our sales go down."

Adrien smirked. "Cat Noir? Surely it can't be that bad losing to a superhero." Especially when you are the aforementioned hero but Adrien declined to mention that.

In a move uncharacteristic of Adrien's father, the man angrily slammed fists on his desk and began yelling. "I will not be upstaged by an upstart teenage vigilante in a faux leather cat costume!"

The unexpected action momentarily shocked Nathalie and Adrien. The assistant recovered her composure first. "Gabriel, sir, perhaps it would be best…"

"Do not interrupt me, Miss Sancoeur." Gabriel growled. "The time for this conversation is now."

Adrien was surprised by his father's change in mood. Nathalie pretended not to be upset, but Adrien could see in her steely gaze that his dad had hurt her. Whatever his father had against Cat Noir seemed almost personal. "So, what are we going to do about Cat Noir? It's not like we can get Ladybug to fire him and make me her partner instead."

Adrien intended it as a joke but Gabriel took his son seriously. "Let me make it clear as it seems I have failed to do so earlier. Under no circumstances are you to have any connections to Ladybug or her associates."

At Adrien's nod he continued, "After consulting with some fitness experts, I have devised a training regimen to build your muscles. Unfortunately, we will not be able to implement it in your schedule until the week after next week. In the meantime exercise equipment will be provided so you can get used to the strain of an intense workout."

"For a moment I thought you were going to cancel the pool trip on Sunday." Adrien commented hinting at his father's tendency to reschedule his life so he couldn't hang out with his friends.

"Now, why would I do that?" Gabriel frowned. "This is an ample opportunity to stretch your muscles. I would encourage you to do some laps of the pool or have races with your friends."

Sensing the conversation was nearing its end Adrien asked, "It's nearly time for me to go to school, is that all?"

"Yes, you may go." Gabriel shut off the video link without saying goodbye.

"Can't even say goodbye." Adrien grumbled. To Nathalie he said, "Shall we go?"

Earlier that morning Alya hopped on her bike to ride over to the embassy to see Lila. She knew the other girl was going there for something important her mother had to do before school. Alya needed to talk to Lila about some of the things Ladybug said to her last night.

Ladybug clearly wasn't a fan of Lila's interview on the Ladyblog. She seemed to think Lila's embellishment of the truth was a way for her to gain unearned fame. A dangerous one that put Alya's reputation on the line and endangered the lives of everyone connected to Lila.

Ladybug had made it sound like she wanted to be everyone's friend. She didn't like the way Lila had planned the sleepover. It was almost like she believed Lila was trying to make Marinette look bad and exclude Chloe to be mean.

That part Alya didn't understand. Chloe was a horrible person. Just as much of a villain as Hawk Moth. The sleepover was a peace offering to get Marinette over her misgivings of Lila. Chloe deserved to be excluded. Sure, it wasn't fair that her invite didn't turn up, but for Marinette to spurn Lila to spend time with Chloe was unthinkable.

Alya could understand the fiasco at lunch yesterday. It had occurred to her that Lila had bought a pair of shoes last Friday. The cost of which would have provided Lila lunch for the whole week. Then Lila had given the rest of her money to charity.

Alya didn't think Lila was a show off, she just had problems budgeting. Although Lila had promised to pay them back, she wouldn't have needed anyone to share their lunch if she never bought the shoes. It certainly wasn't fair for Alya to demand Marinette share on Lila's behalf because of the blunder with the shoes.

Alya would apologize for her mistake at lunch and for breaking Marinette's bracelet before being akumatized. However, the missing sleepover invite was simply a misunderstanding and not really her fault. It was just a confusion she could clear up by talking to Lila first.

So, she sneaked past the embassy gate slightly behind Lila's car. She stopped beside the car as it pulled up outside the embassy. As soon as Lila hopped out the car Alya ambushed her with rapid conversation.

"Lila, Ladybug made me take down your interview." Alya started and got her phone out to show Lila that the interview was gone.

"Hi...WHAT! Why?" Lila freaked out.

Alya pointed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. "Ladybug spoke to me afterwards. She said it was too dangerous."

"Whatever gave her that idea?" Lila gritted her teeth nervously.

"Your claim that you were friends. Villains could take advantage of it." Alya responded and clapped her hands as she remembered the important bit. "By the way there was some confusion with that part."

"You kept that in there?" Lila feigned ignorance. Behind the girl her mother hopped out the other side of the car and headed off towards the embassy too distracted by a phone call to notice Alya and Lila.

"Um, yeah, it was a big scoop and you gave your consent." Alya argued. She poked her finger in Lila's chest. "It's not like you were totally honest anyway."

"I thought it was obvious it would be dangerous to share that information! I thought you would edit it out!" Lila's face turned embarrassingly red.

"Were you lying or not?" Alya accused adamantly.

Before Lila could defend herself further, her mother turned back and called out to her. "Get a move on, Lila. I don't know where your friend came from, but you might as well bring her inside while I get my things for the meeting."

"Of course," Lila smiled sweetly at her mother.

Alya chained up her bike then Lila dragged her to some chairs just outside her mother's office. After her mother was inside the office Lila chose her words carefully. "Why do you think I wasn't truthful?"

"Well, Ladybug said she didn't meet you until after the interview. She caught you talking to her crush." Alya explained as she absentmindedly fiddled with the cushions of the chairs they had found to sit on.

Lila schooled her grin so as not to let on to her devious nature. "When Ladybug saved me, I had a coffee. She complimented me on my taste and I offered to show her where to get one. She thought it would be nice, so naturally I assumed…"

"I guess that makes sense. Ladybug also said you made up stories to her crush." Alya continued as Lila trailed off.

Lila looked away in pretense of hiding a blush. "You know how it is with a crush. I'm sure you have exaggerated a detail or two to Nino before. I promise I really didn't know Ladybug had a crush on Adrien too."

"Ladybug's crush is Adrien?" Alya's eyes widened. "She got mad at you because she was jealous."

Lila quietly nodded. Alya drew her own conclusions and fell further into Lila's trap. Alya sighed as she finally breached the topic she actually came for. "There's more. Ladybug thinks we should apologize to Marinette and give Chloe a second chance."

Lila snorted with annoyance. "Not this again."

"What? Marinette or Chloe?" Alya asked, coming off a little snappy in her confusion.

"Chloe." Lila answered indignantly. "Ladybug sees the good in almost everybody. Cat Noir keeps saying it should apply to Chloe too to show he agrees with her. I keep telling Ladybug that it's only a scheme to get in her pants but she won't listen to me."

"Of course he would." Alya guffawed taking the bait, hook, line and sinker.

"What's this about Marinette?" Lila reeled Alya in.

"Well, I was kind of mean to her at lunch and I broke her bracelet when I got akumatized. If Marinette really didn't get your invite to the sleepover, it could be construed that you were trying to make her look bad." Alya inferred from what Ladybug had told her.

"Hold on a second. I'll check my outbox." Lila got out her phone and pretended to frown in concentration as she searched her email account. She got more frantic until she opened the drafts tab and showed it to Alya.

"Oh, no!" Lila wailed dramatically. "I must have forgotten to hit send and it was saved to the draft folder. Do you think Marinette will ever forgive me?"

"I hope so," Alya soothed Lila, "Marinette usually isn't one to hold a grudge but with how she's been lately…"

At that moment Lila's mother came out of her office with a stack of folders and paperwork and a hand bag. "You're lucky I had to come in, Lila. Don't leave your bag behind next time. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, mother." Lila replied meekly. A sneaky smile crept up her face when Alya wasn't looking.

Alya put her hand up. "Mrs. Rossi, would you mind if I got a ride with you and Lila? My bike is fully collapsible and could fit in the car boot."

Mrs. Rossi smiled. "It shouldn't be a problem, dear."

**Edit: **Hopefully that gets rid of the main problem. Mrs. Rossi should now be less aware of Alya and Lila's conversation. I do have a head canon that Lila's mother sees Lila as a perfect little angel and refuses to believe any notion that suggests otherwise. Thus it might not necessarily lead to a confrontation if her daughter lied right in front of her. Still, coincidences add up, and as per Lexysamafics' review it made sense to at least make Mrs. Rossi blissfully ignorant of her surroundings in this scene.

**Author's note: **

**I loved writing Gabriel's hissy fit over Cat Noir but I think Adrien could barely hold his laughter in. **

**Alya, what have you done? Lila is pulling a rabbit out of a magic hat! I realized Lexysamafics' review of chapter 5 was somewhat right and incorporated some of that perspective by having Alya go to Lila first instead of my original plan of Alya apologizing to Marinette straight away. Marinette could have nipped this in the bud but her doubts got in her way. ****If only Cat Noir had more time.**

**Let's make a game. You get a point for every hole you can find in Lila's stories. How many can you score? Be creative.**

**Next chapter: Marinette confirms Chloe's visit to work on the project. She also begins her plan to redeem Chloe. Alya and Lila apologize to Marinette but is it sincere? Adrien plays a funny audio clip at school and gets in trouble. Cat Noir retweets a new meme.**


	7. Sincerity and Selfishness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Marinette was early for once. Her enthusiasm to enact her plan gave her the motivation to get to school on time. Alya hadn't reached out to apologize yet but Marinette was optimistic it would happen soon.

Marinette's first priority was to find Chloe. She needed to know if Chloe could come to her home to work on Ms. Mendeleiev's project on Friday. Thanks to Alya's interruption yesterday Chloe had never actually given her an answer.

Before Marinette found Chloe she bumped into a group of the boys from her class crowded around Adrien. They were laughing so hard at something on Adrien's phone that Nino's hat fell to the floor when he doubled over. Nino got in her way as he bent down to pick up his hat. "Dude, you gotta play it again so Marinette can hear!"

"Hear what?" Marinette asked interestedly.

"My dad's reaction to Cat Noir being named Paris' #1 Teen Heartthrob." Adrien explained as he pushed through the group to bring the phone closer to Marinette.

Gabriel Agreste's angry voice played through the phone's speakers. "I will not be upstaged by an upstart teenage vigilante in a faux leather cat costume!"

Marinette giggled at the fashion designer's temper tantrum. "Always...number one...mine...you," She stuttered at Adrien then clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Uh," Adrien was taken aback by Marinette's comment. He didn't know what to think. The other guys stifled a chuckle at the awkward moment.

Marinette blushed and hurried to remove her hand from her mouth to correct herself. "I mean I think you're cooler than Cat Noir."

"I'm flattered." Adrien smiled. He put a hand on Marinette's shoulder causing her blush to deepen. "You don't want a copy of the recording, do you? I gave the guys one but I told them to keep it on the down low. Don't want my dad finding out. He might kill me."

"N...No thanks," Marinette squeaked, shaking nervously. "Need to go! I mean talk to Chloe…about Mendeleiv's project."

Marinette rushed off before she had a panic attack. She ended up in the girl's bathroom. "Great, Adrien is going to think I can't control my bladder, never ask me out and never get married to me!"

Tikki flew out of her purse giggling. "Don't be silly, Marinette."

Marinette gave the kwami a stern reprimanding glare. "This is serious, Tikki. I looked like a toddler dancing about from foot to foot."

Voices came from outside. "I'll catch up to you in class, Sabrina."

"Quick, hide." Marinette mouthed to Tikki.

No sooner than Tikki was hidden again did Chloe enter the bathroom. Upon seeing Marinette she remarked, "Huh, you're early. What's the occasion?"

"Well, actually," Marinette answered, holding her purse tightly with both hands. "I wanted to talk to you about Mendeleiv's project."

The connection clicked in Chloe's mind. "You wanted me to come by at six on Friday, right? This is just to clarify because of the confusion yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, after what Lila did I wanted to make sure we were on the same page." Marinette nodded.

"I'll be there." Chloe smiled thoughtfully and headed towards one of the toilet stalls.

Marinette stood still. Chloe noticed this and stopped. She looked at Marinette with a curious expression. "Is that all?"

"I wanted to thank you." Marinette smiled sheepishly.

"What for?" Chloe wasn't used to gratitude from other people. It was new to her.

Marinette shrugged like it was easy to explain. It was as if Chloe undervalued her deeds. "In your own way you stood up for me twice yesterday. We found comfort in each other. Even though we've never been on good terms."

"For a long time I've thought you were the source of my problems. Almost everything you do turns out good while I always make a mess of things." Chloe confessed irritatedly but it didn't fool Marinette. Chloe's bowed head showed that her irritation was directed at her own feelings of guilt rather than at Marinette.

A spark of determination glittered in Chloe's eyes. "I've never liked you but I know nothing good ever comes from Lila. If she wins, I lose too. I won't let that happen."

"You may have an abrasive stony exterior, Chloe, but deep down inside you have the potential for a fountain of good." Marinette grinned knowingly. "See you in class."

Marinette walked out of the bathroom leaving Chloe to her devices. Not exactly the way she had planned the conversation going but the seeds had been sown. Marinette skipped over to class with growing confidence.

When she entered the classroom Marinette noted that Alya and Lila hadn't arrived yet. Only a couple of weeks after the Chameleon incident Lila had reclaimed the seat next to Alya and sent Marinette to the back again with another outrageous lie. Marinette had assumed when Alya apologized they would sit together again.

Alya had yet to apologize. Marinette's earlier confidence began to waver. She panicked. What if Alya had gone to Lila first? Had she not been harsh enough as Ladybug?

No, Ladybug was supposed to appear kind to everyone because she was a hero. Even then, a hero has to give out some tough love every now and again. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.

'_Have I done enough?' _The stray thought filled her stressed state of mind.

"Marinette, are you ok?" Adrien called her out of her panic.

Marinette stiffened and stuttered out a response. "Yeah, umm...you're fine...I mean I'm fine...totally fine...gotta get to my seat."

Marinette rushed to the back of the class before Adrien could say anything more. Juleka muffled a giggle with a hand covering her mouth while Rose gushed about how cute the interaction was. Marinette set down her bag and got out her pencil case in case Ms. Bustier had any worksheets for the class.

Speaking of whom, the teacher entered the class at the same time as Chloe. They seemed to be discussing unfinished homework. "...proud of you, Chloe. It takes a lot of guts to admit the truth. I'll allow the extension and I'm sure Sabrina will appreciate your honesty."

The whole class glanced at each other pondering what that was about. Chloe sat down next to Sabrina and whispered something to her confused friend. Sabrina smiled and gave her a joyous hug. She pulled back when she sensed Chloe's discomfort at the sudden display of affection.

While Ms Bustier started writing the day's lesson on the chalkboard, Marinette puzzled out the actions she had just witnessed. If she could hazard a guess, it sounded like Chloe had gotten Sabrina to do an assignment for her. Chloe had apparently admitted so to Ms. Bustier and asked to redo the work. Did her conversation with Chloe really affect her attitude already?

The bell rang and Ms. Bustier began taking roll call. At that moment Alya and Lila burst into the classroom. The door slammed shut with a bang. Ms. Bustier wasn't pleased with the interruption. "Miss Césaire, Miss Rossi, explain yourselves."

"We were waiting for Marinette but she didn't show up." Alya supplied.

Ms. Bustier looked pointedly at Marinette in disbelief. "Please don't lie to me. Take your seats and next time be discreet if you're going to be late."

"It's true, Ms. Bustier. We really were waiting for Marinette. We..." Lila babbled innocently.

"Enough, Lila. Perhaps you should have made her aware of that. If you hadn't noticed Marinette is already here. In fact I believe she was early. Now, get to your desk." Ms. Bustier interrupted with exasperation.

Alya shot a quick look in Marinette's direction and mouthed an 'oh'. Lila disguised a sneer. Marinette knew she hadn't heard her phone ping with a message but she still worried she should check for a text. She would have to do that later, though. It wouldn't do to get caught using her phone with Ms. Bustier in a bad mood. Chloe's honesty had probably uplifted the teacher's mood only long enough for Alya and Lila to avoid detention.

The rest of the class passed without incident. Afterwards Marinette confirmed that she hadn't received a text from Alya or Lila. Obviously they had wanted to talk to her before school and had relied on Marinette's habitual lateness in hopes of meeting her outside. Although they had another opportunity, they didn't bother approaching her after the first class.

In between classes Marinette's phone dinged with a notification. It wasn't Alya or Lila. It was a notification from Kim's twitter account. Marinette pulled it up. Kim had foolishly uploaded Adrien's audio clip from this morning. He added a gif of an angry man slamming his hands on a table with Gabriel Agreste's face photo-shopped in place of the man's.

It was captioned: 'if I didn't know any better I'd think this guy was Hawk Moth'.

Cat Noir was tagged and there were two hashtags, '#Paris'No1TeenHeartthrob' and '#GabrielAgresteReaction'. Marinette really hoped her silly superhero partner didn't respond. It would just make things worse.

Right before lunch Marinette overheard Adrien on the phone in the locker room. She shouldn't have eavesdropped on the conversation but he sounded pretty distressed. Marinette ducked behind some lockers so Adrien didn't see her.

"I didn't know he was going to do that! Please don't pull me out of school!" There was a pause then, "I'll talk to Kim and make sure he doesn't do anything like that again. You can take my phone off me, I'll do anything; just don't pull me out of school!"

Another pause came before Adrien gave a dejected goodbye. "Goodbye, father."

On Adrien's way out Marinette deliberately bumped into him. Adrien nearly stumbled over but managed to stay upright and greet her. "Oh, hi, Marinette. Didn't see you there."

"Sorry, I should have been minding my own business." Marinette apologised.

"You heard me?" Adrien asked quietly.

Marinette bit her lip and nodded. "I saw Kim's post. It wasn't his greatest idea."

A dark frown passed over Adrien's face. "Agreed. I need to have a word with Kim."

"I would be careful if I were him." Marinette joked. "That sounds more dangerous than Cat Noir's Cataclysm."

Adrien's sly grin gave her the shivers. "Oh, it will be. It will be..."

With that they headed for lunch. Marinette had to clear her head of the picture of the normally soft spoken Adrien and his out of character anger towards Kim. By the time she did Adrien had gone to sit with Nino and Marinette was on her own again. If she hadn't been crushing on the boy she would have been downright frightened by the menace in his words.

When Marinette finished her lunch, Alya and Lila finally dared to approach her. It didn't surprise Marinette when Lila put on an act of fretting and warily watching the cafeteria exit. Alya spoke first. "We have something to say."

Marinette took a deep breath. "Go on."

Alya sat down nervously and Lila followed suit. "I'm sorry I was a bit harsh at lunch yesterday. Lila probably had enough already. I just got a bit over enthusiastic in helping out."

So far this was failing to impress Marinette. "And?"

Alya squirmed shamefully and handed Marinette the repaired bracelet. "Ladybug helped me fix this for you. I'm sorry for harping on you about the sleepover. Lila made a mistake. It was a simple misunderstanding."

As Marinette accepted her returned bracelet, Lila thrust her phone in Marinette's face daring her to defy her evidence. "I just forgot to hit send. See it's saved in my drafts. You can come now, can't you?"

Marinette was not amused. Lila pulled the phone away before Marinette could scrutinize the fake draft email too closely, but she did see that it was too personal for a group invite and too rushed to have been typed weeks ago. She might have called Lila out on it but she had another angle to work. Besides Lila would probably claim she had poor typing skills and the personalized style was an effort to be polite. Alya would likely believe her.

Marinette made eye contact with Alya to ensure her old friend knew she was talking only to her. "I understand and I forgive you. However, I still can't go to the sleepover. I just don't have the time."

Alya got mildly agitated and interrupted, "Are you really still insisting you have a project with Chloe!?"

"If you have a problem with that take it up with Ms. Mendeleiev!" Marinette challenged Alya. This time Alya managed to get it through her thick skull that the project was real. She mumbled a humbled apology.

Then Marinette addressed Lila. "I might have believed you were sincere this time but you made a crucial mistake."

"We said we were sorry!" Alya interjected again.

"You did. She didn't." Marinette clarified before continuing, "Lila, I knew instantly that you were faking a peace offering with the sleepover. If I had gotten the invite early I would have attended and ignored that detail because I care about my friends regardless of how I feel about you. There's just one little problem with your plan."

From the expression on her face, Marinette could tell Alya had no idea where she was going with this. On the other hand all the colour drained from Lila's face. She knew exactly what Marinette was doing. "I can show how you were insincere, Lila."

"Marinette, what are you talking about?" Alya asked warningly.

"Alya, yesterday you talked about the sleepover to me in front of Chloe. That email you've just shown me said she wasn't supposed to know, yet Lila didn't make a fuss when you did that." Marinette was lucky Lila unknowingly included in her fake email the tidbit Alya mentioned to Ladybug. She finished her explanation with two questions. "If it's no big deal then why the silence? While we're in the forgiving mood, why not forgive Chloe too anyway?"

"Why should we? Chloe isn't a misunderstanding; She's a bully!" Lila snapped. "She's tormented the class for years. She tormented you for years. She doesn't deserve redemption!"

In the back of her mind Marinette noted Lila didn't answer the first question. She directed her attention to Alya. "Doesn't everybody deserve a second chance?"

Alya attempted to mutter an objection but failed miserably. Lila knew better and remained silent. Marinette had complete control of the conversation. It was time to drive the nail in the coffin. "Fake or not, If you wanted to appear as the kind peacekeeper in this whole situation, Lila, you should have extended your truce to both your rivals."

As long as Alya dropped her stubbornness Marinette had them right where she wanted them. "Alya, you think you know what sincerity is. I beg to differ. Chloe did something interesting this morning. I think Sabrina would be more than happy to share the details with you."

Marinette stood up proudly. This round was hers. Lila had barely gotten a word in during the whole conversation. Anything the liar could say, Marinette had an answer ready to counter with. It was pretty much a monologue.

Marinette took her tray and left them there to stew. She discarded her tray with the other dirty ones near the kitchen and left the cafeteria. Unfortunately, she hadn't got the chance to check if the timestamp was inconsistent on the email Lila showed her. Even then, exposing it could bring Alya's journalistic instinct into question and humiliate her. Marinette didn't want that.

The rest of the day there was tension between Alya and Lila. It eventually led to an argument Marinette heard about from Alix. Lila tried to portray Marinette as aligning with Chloe and twisting the narrative but Alya remembered Ladybug had suggested everyone deserves a second chance too. Maybe talking to Alya as Ladybug had done some good after all.

At the end of the day Marinette saw Alya talking to Sabrina on the way out of the library. This brought a smile to her face. In the courtyard Adrien got into a playful scuffle with Kim. Well, it was playful until he pinned the other boy and started hissing at him like an angry cat. Eventually, Adrien let him up with an extracted promise never to upload his stuff without permission again.

After that Marinette was distracted by a notification on Ladybug's social media signaled by a different ringtone. She juggled her books about and pulled out her phone to look. Cat Noir had deemed it necessary to retweet Kim's post. Marinette rolled her eyes. Could her partner get any sillier.

'_ Dupont'sStrongest Ladybug and I have cleared Mr. Agreste. Please don't make fun. I really don't want to fight an akuma today. That said, now that I'm #Paris'No1TeenHeartthrob wanna go on a date with me, Bugaboo? ladybugofficial'_

Marinette giggled at the tweet. Did Cat Noir really think he could get away with asking her out so publicly on the internet? She stuck her tongue out as she concentrated on a reply.

'_ milady'ssillykitty in your dreams and stop calling me Bugaboo! Also, don't feel bad Mr. Agreste. Cat Noir is unworthy of being #ParisNo1TeenHeartthrob and is more like #ParisNo1Dork.'_

As soon as Marinette put her phone in her pocket Lila confronted her. Lila knocked the books she was carrying in her other arm to the floor. Marinette growled as she stooped down to pick them up. "Are you serious?"

"You really think you won today, don't you?" Lila glared down at her crossing her arms in a mocking pose.

Marinette finished picking up her books and glanced around. Conveniently, everyone had disappeared while she sent Ladybug's tweet. Marinette chuckled at Lila's cowardice. "I'm not stupid. Alya is stubborn but you're going to reap what you've sown sooner or later."

"Right," Lila scoffed, "and what kind of seed is befriending Chloe?"

"One you can't poison." Marinette countered as she stood up to remove Lila's dominating effect on their power struggle of words.

"It won't make a difference." Lila snarled. "Chloe can't gain you any allies. Even her loyal dog is at my beck and call."

"I'm not after allies." Marinette shrugged like it was no big deal. "I only need to show everyone that Chloe is better than you."

Lila actually snorted. "You've got to be kidding me! Her reputation is in shatters. You'll never be able to make anyone like her."

Marinette shook her head at Lila's delusion. "It will take a long time but I can get everyone to like Chloe easily. You, on the other hand, will only find that the more you lie the less everyone will like you."

"I can tear down your whole plan with just one measly little lie, but I won't even need to do that. Chloe will take you down with her." Lila lowered her voice to put emphasis into her warning.

Lila turned and walked away happy to have the last word. Marinette called out to her, "If that was true you'd have done it already."

Lila momentarily stopped in her tracks. She almost turned to yell back but kept on her path. Now Marinette knew for certain the liar feared Chloe.

**Author's Note: So Adrien secretly recorded his dad and showed all his friends. Assume he did it with his phone in his pocket. Big mistake sending the audio clip to Kim. He's gonna get in a lot of trouble.**

**Marinette confirmed her study session with Chloe and showed her some gratitude. She has a few awkward moments with Adrien. She also manages her first victory over Lila.**

**It's clear Lila wanted to present the sleepover as her attempt at being the better person and bridging the divide between her and Marinette. She knows Marinette would see through it, attend anyway and appear accepting of a truce. So Lila needed to prevent that from happening with the farce of keeping it from Chloe.**

**This works to Marinette's advantage and puts the first crack in Lila's hold over Alya. Chloe's small repentance also helps by making a contrast with Lila's selfish actions. Marinette isn't exactly sure what Chloe said to Ms. Bustier but she made a good guess. We'll get Chloe's motivation in chapter nine.**

**Before then we'll have an akuma in chapter eight. Despite the heroes' naivety Gabriel is still Hawk Moth. They should be more worried about the PR guy that's getting fired.**

**Sneak Peek: **"Hello, Webtroller, I am Hawk Moth. Your boss fired you because you couldn't get rid of a viral meme. I'm giving you the power to turn everyone into an embarrassing meme. Humiliate all of your boss' detractors then get me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous!"


	8. Webtroller

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Adrien's bodyguard and driver, whom Adrien affectionately referred to as the Gorilla, opened the car door for him. Adrien hopped and said hello to his father's assistant, Nathalie. She blatantly ignored him continuing to speak aggressively into her phone. Adrien tuned her out and buckled in. As soon as Adrien was ready, Gorilla pulled the car away from the curb and into the street.

Nathalie's anger only seemed to grow a few minutes into the drive home. She shouted at the person on the other end of the phone call. "If you don't get those tweets taken down now, Mr. Agreste will have both our heads! Get on it or I will personally ensure you never work in Paris again!"

Nathalie disconnected the call and jammed her phone into her bag. She gave Adrien a scary, scathing look. Adrien nervously shrunk into his seat. "It's really not as bad as it seems. Cat Noir and Ladybug asked everybody to be respectful."

Nathalie showed no sign of cooling her rage but unlike her previous victim she didn't resort to shouting at Adrien. "Be that as it may, the damage is already done. You have made your father into a viral meme. If anyone took that dumb oaf who uploaded your foolish recording seriously we could have had the entire police station knocking on our doorsteps."

"Hey!" Adrien objected. "You can't call him that! He's my friend!"

"Your 'friend' just got all your social activities cancelled for a week." Nathalie scolded him.

"That's not fair!" Adrien interjected with frustration. "I was going to the movies with Kagami on Friday night."

"You'll just have to practise the piano in your newly freed up time then." Nathalie countered unwavering from her dangerous tone. "You're lucky your father considers the swimming trip on Sunday a publicity stunt for the brand and not a social outing. If it were up to me, I would have cancelled that too."

Adrien sullenly crossed his arms. "Sometimes I can't decide which of you is crueller."

"Your father just wants what is best for you and so do I. Perhaps if you could learn that we wouldn't have to restrict so much of your time." Nathalie finished her lecture.

Apart from noisy traffic the rest of the drive home was silent. Adrien refused to say anything to Nathalie. Nathalie didn't care and resumed ignoring her teenaged charge.

When they reached the mansion Adrien immediately raced to his room and loudly slammed the door behind him. Plagg flew out of his pocket and into the mini fridge for a camembert snack. He came back out with a mouthful of cheese and remarked, "That went well."

"It's not my fault. I didn't know Kim was going to do that. Why can't they see it, Plagg?" Adrien huffed tearfully.

Plagg picked up the tv remote from the coffee table and passed it to his owner. "Calm down, kid. I'm gonna bet someone gets akumatized over this. You need to be focused when the time comes. Put the news on so we can keep an eye out while you do your homework."

Adrien did as told and ten minutes later he was so engrossed in his homework he didn't even notice his stress levels fall away completely. A sudden dissonant chord came from his piano breaking his concentration. Plagg had deliberately dropped a book on the keys to get his attention.

"Plagg, what was that for?" Adrien demanded, irritated by the interruption.

"Who are you angry at?" Plagg asked innocently.

"You!" Adrien scoffed.

"Anyone else?" Plagg hinted.

"No…" Adrien hesitated. Wasn't he supposed to be angry at his dad and Nathalie?

Plagg clapped his tiny fists together with a satisfied grin. "Give 'em a distraction. Works every time."

Adrien blinked. "Plagg, did you just...?"

"Couldn't risk it, but I think we have bigger problems now." Plagg pointed to the tv.

Adrien turned to the tv to see the mayor giving a speech at city hall. Barely in view of the camera a figure leaped, bounded and swung about the city hall roof almost like Spiderman. The mayor jumped back from the podium when the figure suddenly dropped down in front of him.

The figure was large and hulking. A large splotch of red adorned the back of its all black body. A spiderweb scarf hung around its neck. Adrien corrected his first assessment. This akuma was more like a symbiote villain than Spiderman.

The akuma grabbed the podium microphone and cackled maniacally. Adrien couldn't make out whether the voice was male or female. "Good afternoon. My name is Webtroller. I'd like to make an announcement. My venom will make something embarrassing happen to you when I bite you. Ladybug and Cat Noir, turn over your Miraculous or I will embarrass all of Paris starting with the mayor!"

The akuma dropped the microphone and kicked the podium stand. A whine of feedback blasted through the tv. Then the akuma took Mayor Bourgeois' hand and bit it. The mayor's clothes promptly disappeared and were replaced by white underwear, a purple cape and garishly coloured skates. Webtroller let go of the mayor's hand. "I do hope nobody is recording because the internet is forever."

The mayor skated off dramatically shouting, "I am a superstar!" At the end of his declaration he barreled into a portable toilet and fell into the bowl face first. His head got stuck.

Adrien pitied Chloe. It was one thing for your father to appear half naked on tv but for everything else... He couldn't imagine how the poor girl felt.

Webtroller swung over to the tv crew, sending civilians scattering and screaming. The akuma accosted Nadja Chamack, the reporter on scene. "Let's see what happens when I bite you."

Webtroller shot webs out of his hands stopping any would be rescuers in their tracks. Just as before the akuma forcefully took the victim's hand and bit into it. "Go on, give your report. You're still live on air."

"I'm Chadja Namack and the amuka bas hitten me. Clease pome and lave us, Sadybug!" Nadja Chamack muddled her words up.

"How embarrassing! A reporter who can't speak properly!" Webtroller laughed evilly. Then the akuma webbed the camera. Adrien turned the tv off.

"Come on, Plagg, let's go!"

Meanwhile Marinette's phone rang with the tone for an akuma alert. Marinette watched the news clip and analysed the situation. From what happened to the mayor and Nadja Chamack, she reasoned that the snake Miraculous' power would come in handy.

It was a good thing Marrinette had put extra time in her schedule especially for akuma attacks. While getting to the poorly hidden object the evil butterfly was hidden in could be difficult, using Second Chance could cut significantly on time spent. The tricky part would be finding Luka to give him his Miraculous.

Marinette pulled a cookie away from Tikki's tiny appendages. "Sorry, Tikki. We might need to save that for later. I need to see Master Fu."

"There's an akuma? Who are you going to recruit?" Tikki asked as she reluctantly let Marinette take the cookie and store it away in her bag.

"I need to get Luka, but there's another problem." Marinette responded eyeing the trapdoor leading out of her bedroom with concern.

Tikki followed her gaze and figured out Marinette's reasoning. "They can't know yet. I know you don't want to lie but you can't tell them everything. The secret is imperative."

"What do I say?" Marinette's voice trembled.

"Tell them that you're working on something and will be down in time for dinner." Tikki suggested and plucked her holder's phone from her hand. "It isn't the whole truth but it will do. I'll let Master Fu know to expect you."

As instructed Marinette called down the trapdoor to her parents to tell them she would be down for dinner. In the meantime Tikki talked to Master Fu and got his location. Marinette closed the trapdoor and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you ready?" She asked Tikki.

"Yes, Master Fu's location will be in your yoyo when you transform." Tikki informed her.

"Then it's time to go! Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette let the magic flow around her as she turned into Ladybug. The burden of being a hero was getting heavier. Taking things slow could help her to relax.

Ladybug opened her yoyo and noted Master Fu's location. She swung out from her balcony leaping towards Master Fu. Once she was on the rooftops of Paris she called Cat Noir on the yoyo. "Cat Noir, I'm on my way and I'm bringing Luka." She told him when his face appeared on the yoyo.

Cat Noir grinned with a glint of question in his eyes. "M'lady, I'm glad you're coming but I don't think you meant to say that."

Ladybug ran over what she said in her mind and clasped her spare hand over her mouth. Cat Noir took that as confirmation. He needed Ladybug focused instead of worrying about an inconsequential problem. "It's okay, I already had my suspicions. The sooner you get here with Viperion the better. Style Queen just had a wardrobe malfunction."

A theory popped into Ladybug's thoughts. "Do you think the akuma has a vendetta against Chloe?"

With a glance offscreen Cat Noir shook his head to disagree. "Not likely. It seems more likely the akuma is going after high profile targets. Speaking of which I have a damsel to rescue."

"Go, I'll be there soon." Ladybug clicked off the communicator.

Somehow Cat Noir made it sound like he knew more about the akuma with only a few words. Ladybug guessed he could catch her up when she got there with Luka. It would waste less time filling them both in at once. It would also help that with Viperion's power they would literally have time to spare.

A minute later Ladybug had reached Master Fu's location, a seniors' lawn bowling tournament. Ladybug carefully transformed back to Marinette away from the eyes of the other elderly people. As she approached Master Fu one of the elderly ladies prattled on about her daughter's marital problems. It was a good thing the lady hadn't seen her as Ladybug.

Master Fu saw her approach him and gestured to a quiet corner. Marinette walked over to the designated spot. She greeted the Guardian of the Miraculous. "Hi, Master Fu, I don't have much time. I need the Snake Miraculous."

Master Fu pulled the Miracle Box out of his bag and opened it up. All the compartments flicked out revealing their Miraculous. "I agree. With every humiliation Hawk Moth has another target for his akuma. Stop Webtroller quickly and return the Miraculous to me."

Marinette took the Snake Miraculous but hesitated to leave. Master Fu's brow furrowed with concern. "I sense you have something else to say. Is everything alright, Marinette?"

"I'm thinking about my other allies." Marinette admitted.

Master Fu caught the stare landing on the Bee Miraculous. "Hawk Moth knows her identity. It is too dangerous to bring her out."

"I know. I don't need her today but…" Marinette trailed off.

Master Fu nodded. "We should talk more later. You have a battle to win."

Marinette thanked the Guardian and ran off to find Luka. She intercepted him biking home. Ladybug flagged him down near the river. When Luka stopped and had chained his bike to a nearby bike rack she pulled out the Snake Miraculous. "Luka, I need your help again."

Luka smiled at Ladybug with a twinkle in his eyes. "How can I help, Ladybug?"

Ladybug handed him the Snake Miraculous. "Will you become Viperion again? As before you will return the Miraculous to me after the fight."

Luka put the Miraculous on. "I'm always ready."

The serpent like kwamii, Sass appeared and hissed a greeting to his holder. "Itss good to ssee you again, masster."

"It's good to see you too." Luka returned the greeting in kind. Without further ado Luka cried out the transformation phrase. "Sass, scales slither!"

Ladybug shielded her eyes from the blinding light of the transformation. A second later Viperion stood in Luka's place. Ladybug had to admit seeing an ordinary person turn into a superhero was uplifting for morale.

A pleased grin spread across her face as she readied her yoyo. "Come on, let's not keep Cat Noir waiting."

While the two heroes sprang into action, Ladybug filled Viperion in on Webtroller's apparent powers. They leapt towards the last sighting of Webtroller as fast as they could. When they got to Style Queen's fashion show Cat Noir was fervently preventing the attendees from getting bitten by the akuma.

Webs splattered everywhere as Cat Noir dodged Webtrollers attacks on the catwalk. Cat Noir got distracted by Ladybug and Viperion's arrival and left an opening in his defense. Webtroller lunged past him straight for Chloe who was hiding behind a number of overturned chairs.

Viperion swooped in and pulled Chloe out of the way. Not a moment later Ladybug flicked her yoyo into the akuma's head. Webtroller roared in rage and stormed towards Ladybug. Cat Noir dived in and swung his baton like a baseball extending it at the last minute to amplify the hit. The akuma went flinging across the outdoor fashion show into a tree near the other side of the park.

Cat Noir smirked at Ladybug. "I think I hit a homerun, Bugaboo."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Cat Noir."

"There's only so much embarrassment I can make here. Looks like it's time to move on." Webtroller shouted down to them before rapidly swinging away on his webs.

Viperion and Chloe picked themselves up off the ground. Chloe smiled at him in awe. Viperion stared at his wet hand then Chloe's soaked pants.

Chloe blushed red with embarrassment. "It's not what it looks like! I sat in a puddle of water!"

Viperion examined her arm only to find a bite from Webtroller. "I thought I stopped you from getting bitten."

"What happened?" Ladybug asked Cat Noir.

"I wasn't quite fast enough to save Chloe earlier." Cat Noir sheepishly admitted.

"Maybe if you did your job, like pretty boy here, I wouldn't be in this mess!" Chloe crossed her arms unhappily.

Cat Noir seemed taken aback by Chloe's bluntness. Viperion blinked, unsure if he should take Chloe's compliment at Cat Noir's expense. Ladybug sighed and reprimanded Chloe. "Even I can't save everyone, Chloe. You're lucky I even called Viperion in to help."

Under Ladybug's commanding gaze Chloe muttered an apology. "Sorry. Uh, thanks for trying I guess."

"No problem." Cat Noir posed with his hands on his hips and winked at Chloe. Then he addressed the other heroes. "From what I can tell the effects of Webtroller's powers only last a couple of minutes."

"Long enough to make my family a laughing stock." Chloe grumbled an interjection.

Cat Noir ignored Chloe's impolite interruption and continued, "I think the akuma may be the public relations manager for the Gabriel brand."

Ladybug groaned. "Why do I get the feeling our tweets made the situation worse?"

"He hasn't targeted the school kid who originally posted that audio clip of Gabriel." Viperion input thoughtfully. "Humiliating the boy who started this could bring bad light back on Gabriel, but causing more scandals could mitigate the exposure of the first one."

A light bulb turned on inside Ladybug's head. "I know where he is headed." She turned to Chloe. "We're going to have to leave you here. Will you be okay?"

Chloe checked her phone and nodded. "I'll be fine. Sabrina is on her way." She eyed Viperion flirtatiously. "You know, if a handsome hero sweeps a girl off her feet again, the lady might just have to give him a kiss."

Viperion looked to Ladybug for support. Ladybug just smiled. Making friends or getting into a relationship with Luka could be good for Chloe.

"I'm flattered," Viperion sputtered as he tried to gently decline Chloe, "but I'm not sure that would be appropriate."

"Oh, well, see you next time." Chloe scampered off a little dejectedly.

Ladybug turned to Cat Noir to give the order to head out but hesitated when she noticed his expression. Cat Noir's eyebrows were twitching in disapproval. "It's about time we go," He said impatiently. "Webtroller has a good lead on us."

"You're right. Follow me!" Ladybug gave the order swinging back into the rooftops with the boys close behind her.

They came to a public square with a sound stage being prepared for a concert on one side and a small garden on the other. With an overview of the area Ladybug assessed the situation. Webtroller was nowhere in sight yet.

"Oh," Cat Noir connected the dots. "This is where Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale are doing their collaboration concert on Saturday night."

"Viperion?" Ladybug signalled.

"Second Chance!" Viperion activated his power.

Cat Noir spotted a girl acting weirdly near the garden. "Over there!"

The trio jumped down towards her. Just before they reached her the brunette girl tripped and fell into a pile of mud. The girl shrieked in despair. "My clothes are ruined!"

Viperion helped her up and checked her over. "There's no bite."

Across the other side of the square Jagged Stone yelled from the stage in indignation. "Oi, who do you think you are!"

The heroes whipped their heads towards the stage. Webtroller was standing there having just attacked Jagged Stone. The akuma snarled maniacally. "The name's Webtroller and shortly you'll be the rockstar who can't remember the lyrics to his own song."

Jagged Stone stood in proud defiance. "A true rockstar never forgets his lyrics."

To prove his point Jagged played a chord on his guitar and opened his mouth to sing. He promptly stopped and called out to his assistant. "Penny, darling, what's the next line?"

Cat Noir recognized the mud covered brunette girl. "Wait, you're Lila! Did you do that on purpose?"

"Oops, I didn't mean to distract you." Lila smiled innocently.

Viperion didn't waste any time and immediately reset to a minute earlier. Cat Noir spotted Lila again and pointed out her location. Viperion stopped him and Ladybug from jumping down. "She's faking it. Jagged Stone is in danger."

Ladybug quickly leaped to the rockstar's defense. As soon as Webtroller came down in front of the heroine and rockstar she whacked him with her yoyo. The akuma staggered back and Viperion and Cat Noir joined her landing neatly beside her.

"Whoa, rock on, Ladybug!" Jagged Stone gratefully showed his appreciation for the rescue.

Across the square Lila yelled, "My clothes are ruined!"

The heroes ignored her and advanced on Webtroller. With an enraged roar Webtroller viciously shot a volley of webs from his hands. Ladybug and Cat Noir dodged easily but the lesser experienced Viperion got stuck in the webs.

Viperion tried to get free but instantly realized he couldn't reach his Miraculous. He desperately requested aid. "Ladybug!"

"I've got you covered!" Ladybug spun her yoyo in a rapid circle in front of Viperion to protect him while he worked his way free.

Cat Noir reengaged Webtroller trading blow after blow and keeping him away from the other heroes. Webtroller couldn't find a hole in Cat Noir's defense and was pushed back further and further. When Webtroller tried a new angle of attack Clara Nightingale cheered Cat Noir on from the side of the stage. "Cat Noir, watch out, don't let the akuma win this bout."

Unfortunately, Clara was too close to the fight. Webtroller took the opportunity to lash out and bite her. "Little girl, you are annoying, with Cat Noir I'm only toying. You've ruined my timing, now I've stopped your rhyming."

Clara faltered but like Jagged in the previous loop she defied the akuma. "I'm not afraid, you big bully, Cat Noir will come to my…" Clara opened and closed her mouth but couldn't finish the rhyme.

At that moment Viperion broke free of the webs. With a nod from Ladybug he activated his bracelet again. Once again Viperion held Ladybug and Cat Noir back from aiding Lila. "Lila's faking. Save Jagged and keep me covered. Cat Noir keep an eye on Clara."

As before Ladybug rescued Jagged from Webtroller's attack but this time she also defended Viperion's position. Jagged gave his thanks again. Across the square Lila shrieked for the third time. "My clothes are ruined!"

Cat Noir chose an angle that kept Webtroller away from Clara. With the cover of Ladybug's yoyo shield Viperion was able to flank the akuma. The added pressure of Ladybug's yoyo and punches and kicks from Viperion made it hard for the akuma to hold out against the swiping claws of Cat Noir.

Without warning Webtroller suddenly charged Ladybug going for a bite. On instinct Cat Noir leaped in front of Ladybug to take the hit instead. A second later a pink tutu materialised over Cat Noir's super suit.

A stunned silence fell over the square. Cat Noir blushed as his arms and legs moved of their own accord. Like a perfect ballet dancer he performed a pirouette on the spot.

The sight was absolutely ridiculous. It was too much for Ladybug and she doubled over in a fit of giggles. Before anybody could do anything Webtroller took advantage of the vulnerability and snatched one of Ladybug's earrings.

Viperion didn't wait for Ladybug's transformation to start dissipating before he reset the loop. For the third time he held Ladybug and Cat Noir back from aiding Lila. He growled with annoyance at Cat Noir. "Ladybug, save Jagged. Cat Noir, protect Clara and keep up the pressure. Ladybug and I will defend each other."

This time everything went flawlessly. Jagged and Clara were both successfully rescued while Lila's clothes still got ruined. The heroes forced Webtroller back, and when the akuma charged Ladybug again Viperion found a use for the lyre his super suit provided. He threw the instrument on an intercept course and hit the akuma squarely on the face. "Call your charm now!"

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug flung her yoyo straight up into the air. A mini trampoline fell from the sky onto the stage. Ladybug looked up then at Cat Noir. She knew what to do. "Viperion, hold him down. Cat, get the beam."

In a last ditch attempt to defeat the heroes Webtroller shot webs upwards and pulled one of the support beams away from the ceiling. Cat Noir called his Cataclysm and jumped on the trampoline. Cat Noir's glowing hand connected with the metal midair causing it to crumble into a thin dust layer on Viperion's head as the hero restrained the akuma. Ladybug pulled the scarf from the akuma's neck and tore it in half.

A little black butterfly flew out. Ladybug swung her yoyo out and caught it before it could get away. "Time to de-evilize!"

Ladybug released the purified white butterfly and bid it goodbye. Then she heaved the Lucky Charm into the sky. With an excited grin Ladybug gave her victory shout. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

"What happened?" The young de-akumatized man asked as he checked his foreign surroundings. "Last thing I remember, I was fired for not being able to make a scandal go away."

"You were akumatized. You worked for Gabriel, right? I hear the younger Agreste is kinder than his father. He might be able to help you convince Mr. Agreste to give you your job back." Cat Noir helped the man to his feet."

"Thanks, Cat Noir, but I was already considering resigning anyway. I have another job lined up." The man shook Cat Noir's hand gratefully. "I should get a taxi and make my way home."

The man hurried off then Cat Noir checked the news on his baton and gasped. "Milady, all of the footage of embarrassing things is gone!"

"Not everything, do it again!" Lila demanded, storming up to them in her muddy clothes.

Viperion snorted with laughter. "I think the cure only works on akuma damage. Perhaps you should have thought of that before trying to interfere with hero business."

"Oh, I think you're confused. You must be new. I would never get in the way of saving the day." Lila batted her eyelashes in a poor attempt to flirt with Viperion.

A surge of anger filled Ladybug. "Don't even try it, Lila. I know you were trying to distract us. Interfering with my team will get you nowhere."

"I'm just a poor girl trying to get her clothes fixed." Lila masked her face to appear tearful. "How could the good heroes threaten me like this?"

Ladybug shook her head exasperated by Lila's scheming. "It's not a threat; it's a warning. I gave you a chance once before with Chameleon. Don't waste it."

"Is that what that was?" Lila scoffed. "You're full of it. You could have taken down the Ladyblog interview months ago. That stunt you pulled with Alya changes nothing."

"Look around you, Lila." Ladybug gestured to Jagged, Clara, the stage workers and the behind the scenes film crew. "There's no plot here, just compassion. If you leave before they notice, you won't be humiliated. You can walk away, but don't think I'm ignoring your misbehaviour. I will notice if you continue and I will bring consequences."

Lila's eye's darted about then she sullenly pivoted around and walked away. By Ladybug's side Cat Noir watched on as if uncomfortable with the outcome. Viperion hummed curiously as his Miraculous beeped. "Who is that girl?"

"We have to get you somewhere quiet." Ladybug commanded, having counted the number of beeps from the Snake Miraculous. "We can tell you about Lila later."

The trio split from the square and found an alley for Luka to transform back. Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous beeped more frequently. Ladybug shared a glance with Cat Noir. "We need to re-transform for more time."

Luka closed his eyes while the other two found separate hiding spots and transformed back to Ladybug and Cat Noir again. When they gathered again Luka asked another question. "I thought Cat Noir wasn't supposed to know who I am?"

"It's a security risk, but only the same if you or another holder were to be akumatized." Ladybug explained as she retrieved the Snake Miraculous from Luka.

"That's not what you said about Multimouse on the tower." Cat Noir contradicted her.

"How many times have I told you Ms. Mendeleiev saw her too." Ladybug snapped back.

"Oh, come on, the teacher was completely disoriented." Cat Noir argued.

"Weren't you going to tell me about Lila?" Luka changed the subject to defuse the argument.

"Oh, right," Ladybug caught herself before she could rebut Cat Noir. "Lila is in the same class as your sister. I'm surprised you haven't met her yet. Lila was the akumas, Volpina and Chameleon and I strongly suspect she was involved on Heroes' Day."

"The first time I met her she was manipulating Adrien Agreste with a lie about being a superhero." Ladybug continued the explanation. "I lost my temper and she went on to become Volpina after the confrontation."

"From what I saw today and what you've already implied...I have to ask, is she working for Hawk Moth?" Luka inferred from the little information he had.

Ladybug grimaced. This was not a rabbit hole she wanted to go down. There were too many loopholes and then there was the question of whether anyone aiding Hawk Moth would be dealt with by the Guardian or French Law. "Not that I can prove."

"Ladybug, there's some private matters I'd like to talk with you about." Cat Noir spoke up.

The heroine was surprised by Cat Noir's sudden comment. She opened her yoyo and tapped a few buttons. "I'm sending you a location. Meet me there after I take Luka home."

Cat Noir received the message and nodded. "See you there, Milady." With a wink he extended his baton and vaulted away.

Ladybug offered her arm to Luka. "Hold on."

While Luka held on, Ladybug swung back through the city to his bike. Luka said that was close enough for him and thanked her for the ride. After that Ladybug went to meet with Cat Noir.

The rooftop wasn't far from the bakery she called home. It would make it easy to be home in time for dinner. Cat Noir waved at her as she leapt over to meet him.

"What's this about?" Ladybug asked as she landed.

Cat Noir clipped his baton to his side. "I think you should have exposed Lila. Whatever you told Alya didn't work. I saw her talking to Lila again during my morning run."

"I can't speak for Alya but humiliating Lila will only get her akumatized." Ladybug shook her head. "She's right about the interview though, I should have taken that down months ago."

Cat Noir paced back and forth. "I think we've been complacent. I thought Lila was just an attention seeker, but she might actually be intentionally hurting people. Alya's reputation is going to take a shot because of that interview and that argument at the school yesterday with Marinette definitely wasn't very friendly."

Ladybug watched Cat Noir intently. "You're worried about Marinette?"

Cat Noir stopped pacing. "Remember Weredad? I got him akumatized. I won't fail Marinette again!"

Ladybug took Cat Noir's hand reassuringly. "Hey, we'll do what we can as heroes, but Marinette is a clever girl. I'm sure she'll figure out a solution to her own problems with Lila."

Cat Noir was still stressed. "What makes you so sure, Milady?"

Ladybug gave him a tender smile. "Lila lies and schemes for her own selfish intentions. Pretty soon she won't be able to produce the good fruit she promises to have. Marinette is kind, tries to be honest and likes helping people. If anyone can beat Lila it's her."

"Good fruit?" Cat Noir asked, confused.

"It's a metaphor that my dad told me about." Ladybug explained. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. "Was there anything else? I have to get back home for dinner."

Cat Noir didn't appear to notice the odd noise coming from her midsection. "What was that with Chloe and Luka? I don't really think it's a good idea to put them together."

"Chloe needs a good friend. Sabrina is loyal but she admires Chloe too much to curb her behaviour. Luka is wise for his age and can show her how to respect other people." Ladybug gave her reasons.

"It seemed like you wanted them to be more than friends." Cat Noir remarked referring to the way Ladybug had almost encouraged Viperion to accept Chloe's flirting. "Funny though, I thought after you slipped up with his name earlier that he was the boy you're in love with."

Ladybug's face went beet red. Cat Noir was wrong of course, but he was too close to her identity with that comment. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Milady." Cat Noir smirked victoriously. In a more serious tone he obliviously continued, "Be careful not to hurt Marinette. By way of secret identity, I know he's into her."

Ladybug tore her gaze away from Cat Noir and eyed her home. "I should go. Good night, Kitty."

Cat Noir took in the slowly setting sun. "I'll be expected home soon too. See you soon, Bugaboo."

With that the heroes parted ways, each going to their separate homes. Ladybug pondered the day. Lila showed some weaknesses, Alya still struggled to see the flaws in the liar and Chloe proved she did have some good in her even if she was a little blunt.

**Author's note: This went longer than expected... Apologies in advance, I don't think it's my best chapter by a long shot. Length doesn't necessarily indicate quality. I'm kind of glad I didn't try to combine chapters 7 and 8.**

**Next chapter will probably be shorter. It will jump to Friday when Marinette and Chloe will meet up at the bakery to work on Mendeleiev's project. I'm still working on ideas but I'll try and get that out soon.**

**On pairings: Ladynoir is my favourite side of the lovesquare and we'll see some of that soon. Chloe and Luka might not be endgame. I just sort of came up with it on the spot. A few stories do Kagami and Luka after bringing Marinette and Adrien together but I thought it might be worth trying something different before committing to a particular pairing.**


	9. First Steps

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

Marinette wriggled with excitement in her chair. Dinner was nearly finished and Chloe would soon arrive so they could work on homework together. On Wednesday Chloe handed in the assignment she asked an extension for on Tuesday. Ms. Bustier had graded the work straight away and given Chloe a good grade. Immediately, Chloe's work ethic saw an improvement and the usually slacking teen even asked for extra homework on Thursday.

Now it was Friday night and time to work on Mendeleiev's project. It was also the night of Lila's sleepover. Alya had texted Marinette ten minutes ago wishing she was there. Over the last two days Alya had pushed Lila to make it up to Marinette and Chloe for keeping the sleepover a secret from them.

Lila continued the narrative that Chloe didn't deserve their kindness. She implied that Marinette was lowering herself by associating with Chloe. Even when Alya argued that Lila had driven Marinette to that by her own mistakes, she still made excuses not to apologize. Frustrated, Alya implored Marinette to take the first step in bridging the gap between them, but Marinette pointed out she couldn't give Lila something she wouldn't accept.

Marinette didn't let the week's conflict phase her though. She was ready for tonight! She and Chloe would work separately on their individual homework and then together on Mendeleiev's project. After that Marinette would subtly shift any conversation towards her plan to redeem Chloe in the eyes of their friends.

It wasn't until after Marinette helped her parents clean up that the doorbell to the apartment rang. "I'll get the door!" Marinette yelled and raced off to answer the door.

Marinette opened the door and found Chloe and her butler waiting behind it. She grinned widely. "Chloe, you're here!"

"Good evening, miss," The butler chuckled with amusement. "I told Chloe she had nothing to worry about. I knew you would be happy to see her."

"Hi," Chloe greeted nervously, her shoulders becoming less tense and more relaxed. "I brought some books to help with the project."

"Cool, come on in." Marinette ushered them inside then she took Chloe and her butler to the living room to greet her parents. "Mum, dad, Chloe's here."

Sabine stood up and politely smiled at the young blond teen. "Good evening, Chloe, I'm happy to hear you're getting along with Marinette."

Chloe shrugged her bag off her shoulder and averted her eyes as she mumbled, "It isn't really a big deal. I don't want you to see Marinette poorly because of my past behaviour."

"You misunderstood me. I'm glad to see Marinette's positive attitude rubbing off on you. A little bit of humility can go a long way." Sabine corrected Chloe.

Chloe looked up with a sparkle in her eyes. "Really?"

"Of course," Sabine said with a nod of approval.

Meanwhile Tom shook hands with the butler. "I assume you're the mayor's butler."

The butler winced at the bigger man's strong grip. "You may call me Jean. I would feel welcome to stay and chat but the mayor required me to get back to the hotel once I had been assured of the presence of responsible adults. I shall return to pick up Chloe at nine o'clock."

Chloe huffed. "Marinette is the most responsible person in school. What does my dad actually think we're going to get up to?"

"I'm sure he means well." Tom commented as an attempt at placating Chloe.

"Did you bring the geography homework?" Marinette asked Chloe to bring an end to the pleasantries.

"I've got it in my bag." Chloe lifted the mentioned item with one hand.

Marinette addressed her parents. "We're going to go up to my room and get some homework done and start on our project."

"Okay, do you want me to bring up some snacks later?" Sabine offered but Marinette was already tugging Chloe upstairs.

As soon as they entered Marinette's room, Marinette pulled out her school supplies and pointed out some pillows, cushions and blankets she had arranged on her floor. "I don't have a lot of room up here but I tried to make it as comfy as I could."

Chloe eyed her surroundings. To a parent the room might look messy or unsophisticated. In fact it paled in comparison to her room at her father's hotel. In spite of that there was order in the chaos that showed Marinette's attention to detail.

Chloe set her bag down and sat herself on a cushion. "I've seen worse, even if that's hard to believe given my reputation."

"I'd sooner believe that than anything Lila spews out of her mouth." Marinette joked as she found a place to sit.

Both girls burst into a fit of giggles. Chloe took a breather to imitate one of Lila's more outlandish tales. "Hi, I'm Lila Rossi and I once visited four countries halfway across the world from each other all in the span of a single day."

This set them off for another five minutes of barely contained laughter. "We should probably get started." Marinette wheezed when they finally recovered.

"Agreed," Chloe said as she pulled her homework binder out of her bag.

First they finished the geography homework. Chloe needed help with landmarks and topographical features but was otherwise able to identify countries and name leaders more rapidly than Marinette. Just as they were about to take a break Marinette's mum came up to the room with a tray of cookies and milk.

"How is the homework going, girls?" She asked as Marinette stood up to accept the tray of snacks.

"Great! We're going to start on the biology project now." Marinette answered.

"What's your topic?" Sabine followed up her first question.

"We're doing a presentation on the circulatory system." Chloe responded this time.

"Interesting, I think we have a biology book somewhere in the apartment. If you need something for research I can try and find it." Sabine offered.

"Thanks, mum, we'll have a look through the stuff Chloe brought and let you know if we need it." Marinette expressed her gratitude.

After that Sabine left them to continue their work. Marinette and Chloe took a few moments to snack on the cookies and milk, taking care to avoid spilling milk or crumbs on the textbooks. Then they each grabbed one of Chloe's books and scoured them for information.

They managed to lose track of time in their research but had an outline for the presentation written by eight thirty. The project wasn't due for a while so this would at least give them a head start. Chloe took a bite out of the last cookie and commented on their progress. "There's so much information in these books. It's a pity we won't be able to include all of it."

"I know! The stuff about blood clots is really interesting." Marinette remarked back.

Chloe grimaced guiltily. "I need to apologize to Sabrina again. Working together is so much more fun."

Marinette bit her lip thoughtfully. She needed to broach the topic of her plan to elevate Chloe's reputation above Lila's soon. It wouldn't be long before Chloe had to leave. "I kind of guessed that the extension you asked for on Tuesday was to redo an assignment that you pressured Sabrina into doing for you. I've been meaning to ask what motivated you to fix your mistake?"

Chloe stared at Marinette as if it was obvious. "You did. After you commended me for helping you, all I could think about was how you wouldn't approve of what I was about to get away with. My whole life I've struggled to gain the attention of people close to me like my parents, my butler, Sabrina, Adrien, his dad, and our classmates."

"I just wanted someone to notice me!" Chloe's face glistened with tears. "I went about things the wrong way. Then you were kind to me in spite of everything I've done just because I was nice to you one time. I couldn't bear seeing you disappointed in me again."

Marinette clasped Chloe's hand in a show of support. "Chloe, I might have been a little upset if you hadn't fixed it, but I never expected you to change overnight. These things take time."

Marinette grinned cleverly. "I'm not the only one you've made happy. Sabrina seemed pretty pleased with the extra credit Ms. Bustier gave her because of you."

Chloe rubbed her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes," Marinette affirmed. She got up and pulled a notebook from a drawer in her desk. "What if I told you I have a plan to make you like Ladybug and Lila worse than Hawk Moth?"

"I'm in!" Chloe declared enthusiastically before Marinette could finish.

Just at that moment Marinette's mother opened the hatch to come to talk to them. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"We're planning some nice things to do for our friends." Marinette answered. "Is Chloe's butler here to pick her up?"

Sabine shook her head. "No, there's been a crisis at the hotel and he can't get away just yet."

"When will he come get me then?" Chloe asked in concern.

"We can drop you off instead or he can get you at ten. You're more than welcome to stay a little longer if you want." Sabine offered to Chloe.

Chloe mulled over her options. "I think I would like to stay a little longer."

"Of course," Sabine smiled. Noting the homework still strewn across the floor she suggested, "Marinette, it might be a good idea to take a change of pace and do something different. Keep the noise down though, your father has already gone to bed."

"Yes, mum, we were about to pack this up anyway." Marinette complied while trying to get her mother to leave before she embarrassed her.

"Remember," Sabine whispered, holding a finger to her lips as she left.

As they packed up the schoolwork Chloe asked, "So, this plan?"

"I want to change how people perceive you." Marinette explained. "But first we've both made mistakes in the past that need correcting."

Chloe crossed her arms intrigued. "I know I've made my mistakes, but there's a reason I used to call you 'Little Miss Perfect'. No offense."

"Nobody's perfect." Marinette reminded Chloe with a frown. "Remember what we did to the director of the Ladybug and Cat Noir movie and almost did to Kagami?"

"Yeah," Chloe looked away guiltily. "What's that got to do with Lila?"

"Everything! Just like Lila, we never made an effort to apologize." Marinette stated emphatically while waving her notebook about. "If we're going to beat her at her own game, we have to be better than her."

Chloe flinched as the notebook nearly hit in her head. She pouted pessimistically "I don't want to be nice to Kagami. She…"

"She despises Lila too." Marinette cut her off. "Kagami could be an ally to us, but if we keep acting guilty around her she will continue keeping her distance."

"Is everything in your notebook going to be as hard as this?" Chloe asked despairingly.

Marinette shook her head in answer. "I wanted to get the hardest stuff out the way first. It took me the last couple of days to realise this, but we were disrespectful towards Adrien too by trying to hurt Kagami that day."

Chloe stiffened. Marinette had witnessed Adrien give Chloe the cold shoulder before whenever the girl did something that disappointed him. It motivated Chloe those times to make things right that she wouldn't admit to making wrong in the first place. Now it made Chloe panic. "But if he finds out…"

"Chloe, part of being a good person is admitting our mistakes, fixing it as best we can and asking for forgiveness." Marinette reminded her guest in a gentle tone.

Chloe took a deep breath and relaxed. "So what do we do next?"

Marinette eyed the clock in her room. "We have some time left before your butler comes. Let's write an apology email to that director to start with."

"Sounds good to me." Chloe nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea of how to talk to Adrien and Kagami." Marinette continued as she booted up her laptop. "Before we go shopping with the other girls on Sunday…"

"Wait, is that why Sabrina didn't want to hang out with me then?" Chloe interjected clearly showing she had been unaware of the girls' shopping trip.

Before her plan Marinette had only a passing interest in the shopping trip because of Lila's involvement in the class wide trip. Marinette hadn't talked much with the other girls about it. She hadn't noticed that whenever Chloe had walked into a room the last few weeks everyone stopped talking about it.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Lila! I should have known! This was class wide and has been in the works way longer than what they claimed the sleepover had been planned for. I suggested extending an invitation to Kagami over a month ago. Did you have any plans then?"

"Only what I wanted to do with Sabrina." Chloe scowled at the thought of being left in the dark.

"We're meeting at the mall at noon but I was going to make macarons for everyone and an extra batch for Kagami beforehand. My other idea was to chip in on one of Kagami's purchases. Afterwards we were going swimming and all the boys were coming too. I thought doing something nice would help our apology and it would be a good opportunity to talk to Adrien too." Marinette explained her ideas.

"I can make it." Chloe proclaimed. She tilted her head and frowned as if something previously unknown occurred to her. "Lila is working against herself. She's so desperate to paint us as bad people that she's doing bad things to us and reflecting her own image."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way." Marinette pondered Chloe's epiphany as she turned to her computer screen. "We should probably get to that email now."

The two girls set about finding a way to contact the director. Thankfully, it didn't take long since Marinette realized he had given her a business card at the premiere of his movie. Together they composed the apology letter. Ten came and passed without the arrival of Chloe's butler. Chloe insisted on refining the letter as they waited while Marinette succumbed to tiredness and zonked out on the desk.

Marinette drowsily woke a little later to her mother urging her to move to her bed so as not to hurt her muscles. The butler was carrying a sleeping Chloe out of her room bridal style. Marinette brushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

'It's late' was her mother's answer. "Jean had a hard time getting away from the hotel. You can get in your bed now and go back to sleep so your back doesn't hurt in the morning."

"Thanks, mum. Goodnight." Marinette said as she climbed into her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was back to sleep.

**Author's note: The Animaestro episode in season three is a disaster piece. There were no consequences to Marinette and Chloe's actions. Sure, no one found out what they accidentally did and were intending to do but you can't make Marinette a role model if she doesn't apologize while calling Chloe irredeemable for the same thing. At the very least Marinette should have come to her senses and apologized for her actions or her parents should have found out and grounded her.**

**Fortunately, it does provide us with a convenient first step for Chloe's redemption. In my opinion the class would not accept a general apology from Chloe. However, if they heard that she apologized to an outsider and rival for Adrien's affection it could be a different story. Of course, I'm also planning a consequence for Marinette that will bring about the culmination of a future plot twist.**

**On the timeline: I have mentioned the setting once before but to clarify this story is set vaguely before the Ladybug episode which will go down differently here. I'm not too concerned about exact chronological order. Some events have occurred and some have not. I'm choosing to keep it close to my chest to avoid spoilers.**

**On pairings: Don't be confused, the endgame is the love square. I have pairings in mind for Luka, Chloe, Nathaniel and Kagami but they're not final at this stage. Alya/Nino and Ivan/Mylene are staying together because I have no story reason to break them up.**

**Writing Prompt for other authors: Lila starts trying to ruin Ladybug's reputation with humiliating lies/baseless accusations after Adrien interferes with her attempt to discredit and expel Marinette. Marinette doesn't catch on that they are about her alter ego and not her normal self. She denies each lie or allegation as if they were about herself to the confusion of her classmates.**


	10. Apologies: Shopping Trip

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.

Marinette set up the ingredients, utensils and mixing bowls she needed for the two batches of macarons she was going to make on the kitchen bench. Marinette liked doing her baking this way to save time or prevent clumsy mistakes later. She double checked the recipes then commented aloud to herself, "I think that's everything."

Tikki flitted about the bench triple checking Marinette had everything. Satisfied, she remarked, "Wow, Marinette, that's a lot of ingredients!"

"Most of it is for the first batch." Marinette explained. "I'm making two for everyone. There's fifteen people in the class including myself, then we invited Kagami and Luka and of course I couldn't forget you. We need thirty six in total for the first batch."

"How many are you making for the gift to Kagami?" Tikki asked as she inspected the second recipe.

"The recipe makes twelve but they're slightly smaller than standard macarons. I'm adjusting the recipe and making six bigger ones instead." Marinette informed the inquisitive kwami and demonstrated the size she intended by circling her fingers together.

"Matcha? That sounds odd." Tikki reacted to the flavour of Kagami's batch by sticking her tongue out in a silly fashion.

Marinette muffled a giggle. "That's because the name comes from a Japanese treat made with green tea. I thought with her heritage Kagami might appreciate the unique flavour."

A bell jingled out in the shop followed by the friendly voices of Marinette's parents greeting the newcomer. From the sound of the conversation Chloe had arrived. "You should probably hide now. We don't want Chloe or my parents to see you." Marinette directed Tikki to hide in her purse.

A moment later Chloe walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Marinette, your parents said you would be waiting for me in here." She greeted Marinette.

"Hi, Chloe, are you ready to learn to make macarons?" Marinette returned the greeting.

Chloe set her handbag down out of the way and nodded. "I'm ready."

"Good, let me just find an apron for you." Marinette pulled open a draw full of decorated kitchen towels, oven mitts and aprons and sorted through them. She picked one out and handed it to Chloe.

Chloe inspected her apron's design then glanced at Marinette's with an amused smirk. "Did you intentionally pick out hero themed aprons?"

"Huh?" Marinette interjected with confusion. It took a moment for her to realise her own apron was Ladybug patterned while Chloe's was white with a bee flying in a circle with the words 'Bee Creative!' underneath. "Oh, that was an accident. I'm sorry if I upset you. I can find something different."

It was widely suspected since Heroes Day that Ladybug had no intention of recruiting Queen Bee's help because of how Hawk Moth had exploited her identity. With Carapace and Rena Rouge coming out more often it only increased the credibility of the rumour. After all the new heroes appeared it was assumed Queen Bee wasn't just benched but off the team altogether. Then more rumours suggested it had more to do with Chloe's behaviour than her known identity.

Chloe picked up a utensil distractedly. "It's ok. I know now…"

"That you don't need a Miraculous to be a hero." Marinette finished as Chloe trailed off quietly.

Chloe smiled bashfully. "Thanks, but I was going to say 'how unworthy I was to wield one in the first place'."

Marinette frowned. "Revealing your identity doesn't make you unworthy."

Disagreeing, Chloe shook her head. "It's not that, Marinette. I've made too many mistakes."

"Maybe, but at least you're trying to change." Marinette tried to reassure her former rival.

"I suppose so." Chloe shrugged as she pulled the apron on.

"We should get started on these macarons or we'll be late." Marinette suggested while looking at the clock.

"Just show me what I need to do." Chloe eagerly rolled up her sleeves.

With a grin on her face Marinette got to work. She carefully instructed Chloe on the preparation and mixing of ingredients. It didn't take long for Marinette to get a glob of mixture on the tip of her nose which promptly made Chloe burst into laughter. Chloe gasped when Marinette retaliated by flicking mixture onto Chloe's face. Marinette giggled back until Chloe snapped a picture with her phone. The baking process then turned into who could get the silliest picture of the other.

A short time later the two girls were packing the finished macarons into boxes. The boxes then went into two separate bags, in one went Kagami's apology macarons and in the other the rest for all their classmates. As they were doing so Chloe excitedly exclaimed, "They look so delicious! I could eat one right now! Kagami is going to love hers."

"I know!" Marinette agreed heartily. The macarons turned out unusually perfect. When Marinette baked with her other friends it didn't always turn out well. Some couldn't follow instructions well and missed steps or ingredients. Others assumed Marinette's innate clumsiness would ruin the recipe and tried to take over to the detriment of the baked goods. Marinette often found that even Alya despite having a professional chef for a mother ended up in both groups.

Sabine walked into the kitchen at that moment. "Girls, it looks like the busy period will die down in about ten minutes. If you can get cleaned up quickly…"

Surveying the state of the kitchen Sabine raised her eyebrows in surprise. The benches were pristine and all the utensils, trays and mixing bowls the girls had used were washed and put away. Normally, the baking mother could expect her daughter to be slaving away still cleaning up their mess while the friend scoffed down their hard work. She inspected the macarons in the last box to be packed away with disbelief. "Well, I'm officially impressed!"

"Chloe's a good helper, mum." Marinette agreed. "She actually did a lot of the cleaning up."

"These macarons look perfect. When you work as a team your efforts pay off." Sabine congratulated the girls.

"Thanks, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng." Chloe gratefully accepted the praise.

"You're welcome to come bake with Marinette any time." Sabine offered and then turned to Marinette. "All ready to go?"

"We're ready." Marinette answered.

A short car trip later with Marinette's mother and the two girls were dropped off at the mall. Marinette had brought a bag with her swimming gear for later while Chloe had elected to buy something new at the mall to change into. They brought Kagami's macarons with them while Sabine dropped off the others at the swimming pool snack bar. The small shop often held birthday cakes and other confectionery at the request of clients in their cool room. This would save the trouble of carrying around another bag for the next few hours.

Marinette and Chloe wandered over to the food court where the other girls would be waiting. When they encountered their classmates, they found them sitting at a table listening to another of Lila's stories. Alix in her skater outfit as always looked up at the sound of their approach. "Hey, Marinette." Then she noticed Chloe. "Uh, why is Chloe with you? I thought this was just for the friend group."

"This might be an unofficial gathering, but the whole class plus Kagami and Luka are coming to the swimming pool later." Marinette countered delicately as she walked up.

With the exception of the mentioned japanese girl and Mylene, the girls got up from their seats scraping their chairs loudly as they pulled them away. Mylene covered her ears in annoyance at the noise. Rose pointed an angry finger at Marinette. "Who put you in charge of deciding who comes?"

"I might not have organized this event but it's not fair to exclude Chloe when everyone else is here." Marinette tried to keep her voice even. "I wouldn't be a very good class representative if I let that happen."

Sabrina's expression became very guilty and she noticeably avoided Chloe's gaze. Alya nudged Lila in the side with her elbow and whispered, "Say something."

"I have nothing to say to them!" Lila viciously spat back in a barely concealed whisper while she crossed her arms and glared at Marinette.

In the midst of this Chloe added with an exaggerated smile, "Besides I need to buy a new bikini."

When Kagami spoke her face betrayed no emotion, but Marinette didn't know whether it was because she was schooling her emotions or her indifference to the situation. "I don't see why Chloe can't join us. Don't they say, 'the more, the merrier'?"

"Whatever, let's get some food. I'm hungry." Juleka commented in a monotonous tone, moving her hair so only one side of her face was obscured.

Miraculously, Lila had money again. She loudly proclaimed about how she got an advance on her pocket money. Then she complained to all who would listen that she'd couldn't buy a dessert because she had to stretch her money for shopping. Despite this, Lila picked an option from one of the more expensive food chains.

Marinette smirked as she chose a cheaper healthier option that left her with plenty of money for later. When the group sat down again with their lunches, Marinette informed them about their afternoon tea. "You don't have to worry about dessert, Lila. We made macarons this morning. My mum dropped them off at the Smooth Juice at the pool so we didn't have to carry them around."

"That sounds delightful." Underneath Lila's forced smile she sneered at Marinette.

"I don't think you've ever tasted one of Marinette's macarons." Rose remarked to Lila.

"Come to think of it, Rose is right." Alya added thoughtfully. "You should hear how Adrien raves about them. Nino keeps whining that he won't stop."

"Really?" Marinette raised her eyebrows. Aside from when her parents catered for events or she made some for class she couldn't think of a time Adrien had an opportunity to eat many. Especially since he rarely came by the shop. "I can't say Adrien has had many more than Lila."

"Speaking of Adrien, where are the boys?" Chloe asked curiously.

"They went go-karting. I would have gone too, but I needed to get new skates." Alix chimed in after swallowing a mouthful of burrito.

"Adrien wasn't allowed to go." Kagami quietly informed them while absently using her chopsticks to fiddle with her rice dish.

Except for Lila, the rest of the girls muttered angry complaints against Adrien's father. Lila brushed off the senior Agreste's behaviour with some excuse about the Gabriel fashion brand. "Having worked in fashion before I know what they have to do with the change of seasons coming up. Adrien probably had to do a fitting for his dad."

Marinette didn't buy that for one second and instead relied on Kagami for a real reason. "Did Adrien say why he couldn't come, Kagami?"

"He got in trouble over Kim's tweet of his recording of his dad." Kagami supplied an answer. Then she offered some good news. "Adrien still has permission to come to the swimming pool later though. He said something about a new fitness regimen."

"That's a relief." Alya commented and took a sip from her soft drink.

"Yeah, Kim can be stupid sometimes." Alix remarked, throwing the trash from her finished food into a nearby bin. "It's good that Adrien didn't get over punished for Kim's actions, but he should know better by now than to give that guy a copy of an embarrassing recording."

"That, I can agree on. Adrien can be so naive." Chloe added to Alix's remark.

Marinette overheard Rose whisper something in Juleka's ear about 'crushes' and 'girls'. Juleka covered her mouth to conceal a snicker. Mylene and Sabrina who were closer to the sneaky duo also concealed giggles.

After lunch the girls split up to make sure everyone had time to visit the shops they wanted to go to. Kagami seemed reluctant to go anywhere on her own but kept eying a dress shop that none of the other girls showed an interest in. Noticing the opportunity Marinette spoke to her hesitant friend. "Chloe and I will go with you if you like."

"Thank you. That would be nice." Kagami expressed her gratitude. A shrug of her shoulders and a slip in her accent showed an uncomfortableness in social interaction that wasn't apparent at the lunch conversation.

While they browsed the aisles Marinette decided to bring up the apology. "Kagami, Chloe and I have something we need to say to you."

Visibly confused, Kagami asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, that was us." Chloe admitted shamefully, fretting over a rack of dresses to calm her nerves.

Kagami watched Chloe in suspicion. "What do you mean? Did the two of you do something mean to me? I didn't realise you were friends."

Marinette sighed. It was now or never. "We tried to. Remember when the director of the Ladybug movie got chocolate cake on the back of his pants?"

"That was you?" Disbelief etched into Kagami's face.

"Yes, we set up an elaborate prank intending to ruin your dress but embarrassed the director by mistake." Chloe filled in.

"Why?" Kagami asked in dismay.

"Because we thought you weren't good enough for Adrien." Chloe tensed up and started nervously itching her wrists.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Kagami demanded, her voice clear with disappointment.

"We were wrong!" Marinette declared pulling out the gift macarons from her handbag. "We were disrespectful to you and Adrien and it's about time we apologised."

"You're sorry for something that didn't end up happening?" Kagami narrowed her eyes interrogatively.

"We're sorry for what we conspired to do." Marinette clarified and offered the box of green tea macarons to Kagami. "We made these for you this morning as a token of our sincerity."

Marinette then gestured to the racks of clothes. "Since we would be responsible for replacing your dress if our despicable actions had succeeded, I think it's only fair if we also buy one of these dresses for you."

Kagami relaxed slightly. "Any dress?" She asked looking wishfully at an extravagant option.

Chloe took a moment to swallow her pride before confirming, "Any dress."

Kagami glanced between the hopeful girls and came to a decision. She took a macaron from the box and bit into it. After swallowing the delicious bite she announced, "I accept your gracious apology."

Marinette couldn't contain herself and rushed to hug Kagami. Kagami was bemused and Chloe awkwardly stood still. Marinette ushered Chloe to join the hug. "Come on, Chloe, bring it in."

Chloe unsurely put her arms around the other two girls. For a minute they embraced each other. Kagami eventually broke off the hug. "Marinette, if you don't mind, can you hold onto those macarons for me? I don't really have much room in my handbag."

"Of course!" Marinette agreed with a smile.

Unbeknownst to the trio, in the shadows a liar grinned evilly. This was the perfect opportunity for sabotage. All her plotting would soon come to fruition.

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait. I had the outline done for a while then got distracted playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I reached the apology at the end here and realized I needed to split the chapter in two.

I still had a fair bit of outline to go and knew it would get quite long after being fleshed out. One of my biggest flaws is I'm not very good at describing the characters' surroundings and objects around them. In saying that, dialogue, facial expressions and actions of the characters can quickly add up to the word count.

Next time: The swimming pool, the apology to Adrien, Adrien's love life, Lila starts fights, Kagami makes an ultimatum, Luka is overprotective and an akuma attacks.

Hints for future: Kitty Section meeting, breakup prevention, Tibet, temporary guardianship.


	11. Apologies: Swimming Pool and Akuma

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Those rights go to the respective creators and owners. I'm just having fun playing in their world.**

**Warning: While there is no nudity as such there are characters wearing less than modest clothing in this chapter.**

After getting bored at the mall the girls had decided to go to the swimming pool early. When the girls arrived at the swimming pool, Marinette let the Smooth Juice shop know when they wanted the macarons out. It seemed the boys had the same idea to come early as they had already turned up. Even Adrien was there as he had managed to get himself out of a prior responsibility. An extra hour would mean more time for afternoon tea and fun and games.

In the change rooms Juleka eyed Chloe's new bikini with jealousy. "Mum would throw a fit if she saw me wearing something like that." She complained to Rose.

"Yeah, and your brother would throw an even bigger one." Rose giggled as she zipped up her bathing suit.

"Juleka, you're showing too much skin!" Juleka did a mocking impression of Luka.

"Hey!" Chloe was about to take off her tee-shirt to change when she realized she was being watched. She blushed uncomfortably and pulled her shirt back down. Affronted by the two girls' rudeness she called them out on it. "I know this is a communal change room, but you could at least have the common decency to look away."

"If you don't want us to see you naked, maybe you should wear something more modest than that bikini!" Rose sharply retorted back.

"Nothing at all would probably be more modest." Juleka added with a snort.

Close enough to hear the commotion Marinette came over in support of Chloe. "Rose, Juleka, I'm shocked you would be mean like that." Pointing out Alya and Lila's choice of clothing she continued her reprimand, "It's not fair to pick on Chloe's modesty when Alya and Lila are wearing far less."

Indeed the outfits Alya and Lila had changed into were very skimpy. It seemed Lila had influenced Alya's choice. Judging by their conversation in the other corner of the room, it sounded like Lila was telling Alya how much Nino would be impressed by the outfit.

An expression of guilt fell over Rose's face. Rose evaded Marinette's eyes. "Sorry, Chloe, I don't know what came over me."

"That's okay. Just...don't stare at me." Chloe hesitantly accepted the apology.

Juleka remained sullenly silent. Her long hair hid a dark expression. However, Marinette saw her frustration. "Juleka, you're not the only one who isn't allowed to wear a bikini. Kagami still wears a bathing suit and she's older than most of us."

"What's your point?" Juleka spat not taking kindly to the reprimand.

Marinette ignored the harsh tone of Juleka's jab and continued, "I know it seems unfair that your mother won't permit you to wear a bikini, but you can't let frustration, jealousy or embarrassment turn you bitter."

"Jealousy? That's rich coming from you." Juleka scoffed.

"What?" Marinette bristled. Juleka was of course referring to the irrational theory that Marinette's rivalry with Lila was motivated by jealousy over Adrien.

"Fine!" Juleka threw her arms in the air in a sign of exasperation. "I'm sorry for picking on your outfit, Chloe. Happy, Marinette?"

Marinette was about to cross her arms and say just how obstinate she thought Juleka was being when Chloe grabbed her left arm to stop her. "Don't. That's about as good as I'll get and more than I deserve."

Then Juleka stormed off dragging Rose along with her. Marinette watched them go with tears threatening to well up in her eyes. "Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

Marinette wiped her eyes. "I thought this was going to be easier. I rebuked Alya and Lila before their sleepover. I thought I had started to sway Alya away from her. Then I saw them in those skimpy bikinis and now Juleka being stubborn."

"Lila has so much influence over all of them, even Sabrina." Chloe nodded thoughtfully in agreement. Chloe suddenly twisted to view Alya and Lila as something dawned on her. "Breaking Lila's spell won't be easy, especially if they don't want to get out from under it. That's why you want to help me change my behaviour; to give them something better to escape to."

Marinette nodded somberly. Chloe had hit the nail on the head. "Lila wants me to try and expose her, because it will backfire if I don't predict a fallback lie. I can't play that game anymore. Lila gives them false hopes but I can offer something real and better by helping you be good."

Chloe considered her bikini conscientiously. While obviously less modest than a bathing suit, the bikini didn't really show off much skin though the Queen Bee inspired colours drew more attention. Still, doubt had settled in and she gulped guiltily. "Maybe I should keep my shirt on to placate Juleka."

Marinette made an uncertain expression. "It's up to you, but I don't think compromising in this situation is worth it. Rose and Juleka didn't ask Alya and Lila to wear something more appropriate so why should you have to alter your outfit to sate their jealousy."

Marinette gestured to the Ladybug themed bikini she had changed into. "Besides I'm wearing mine no matter what they say."

Chloe smiled at the boost of confidence. "Thanks, Marinette. I should get ready now so we have time to talk to Adrien."

Adrien sauntered over to the Smooth Juice counter where Kim was flirting with Ondine. Kim would compliment her work outfit then go on about how much prettier Ondine would look in a bikini in the pool. Ondine exasperatedly rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's hijinks and seemed glad for Adrien's interruption. "What can I get for you, 'mister model'?"

Despite his dislike for the nickname Adrien took it in stride, knowing Ondine was only using it to tease Kim. "A banana smoothie, please." He replied and handed over the exact cash for his choice.

"Coming right up." Ondine rang up the order.

Kim stuck his tongue out at Ondine. Ondine responded in kind and then started making Adrien's order. The couple continued to banter while Adrien waited for his smoothie. Adrien watched on in amusement.

Once he had his smoothie Adrien searched for Nino. The other boy was sitting at the table farthest from the Smooth Juice counter and closest to the pool. Adrien noted that Nino had chosen to go bare chested like all the other boys except himself. Nino had shorts as did most of the boys while Kim opted for just trunks to make himself more streamlined. Adrien felt slightly awkward being the only wearing a rash vest as well.

Before he reached Nino, Adrien was ambushed by Chloe and Marinette. "Hey, Adrik-..." Chloe stopped short of calling Adrien by her pet name for him. "Hey, Adrien, can we speak to you for a moment?"

In surprise at their appearance Adrien nearly dropped his smoothie but recovered quickly to greet them with a smile. "Hi, Chloe, Marinette, I can spare some time to talk."

"There's something we should have said a while ago." Marinette started nervously, barely managing to keep her speech coherent.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked with a frown. The mannerisms of the girls talking to him indicated something serious could be at issue. "Did I do something to upset both of you?"

"NO! I mean not at all!" Marinette lost her composure and waved her hands frantically in the negative. "We're the ones who hurt you."

Adrien blinked. "I'm confused. I don't have any problems with either of you at present."

Chloe took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing for Marinette, "Remember the Ladybug movie premier. The director got chocolate cake squashed on the back of his pants. That was...us."

"Ok," Adrien observed Marinette to get clues to what this was all about. Somehow it didn't help as the more he searched her face, the more she blushed to his confusion. "I can't stop telling you not to be cruel, Chloe, but I can't understand why Marinette would be involved in this or what it has to do with me."

"Kagami," Marinette whispered just audibly enough for Adrien to hear. "We wanted to ruin her clothes and get her away from you."

Adrien stepped back in surprise at Marinette's admission. "But you're friends with Kagami, Marinette. Why would you do that?"

"I didn't like Kagami back then. I was stupid. I let my personal feelings get in the way of getting along with her." Marinette rambled an explanation.

"I was cruel as usual. I was angry about not being in the spotlight like I'm used to." Chloe added with a tone Adrien realised was disgust at her own actions.

Adrien's mind reeled. He didn't know what they expected of him. As appalled as he was by what they had tried to do, he would never have known if they didn't confess it to him. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"We came to apologise. We were really disrespectful to Kagami and you as her escort that day." Chloe offered meekly. "It's about time I tried to be a better person."

"You don't have to say anything." Marinette made eye contact with Adrien. "We're sorry for what we tried to do. I want to be a good person, but how would I be any better than Lila if I didn't own up to my mistakes and fix them?"

"Come here." Adrien extended his arms out wide. When both girls hesitantly accepted his embrace he said, "I forgive you, both of you."

A few seconds after Marinette and Chloe excused themselves and made for the pool Nino walked up to Adrien. "Now I see why you call her our Everyday Ladybug."

"Oh, hey, Nino. You heard all of that?" Adrien turned to greet his friend. At Nino's nod he commented, "I'm surprised you didn't jump to Lila's defense. Almost everyone else would have after the way Marinette mentioned her in her conclusion."

Nino shook his head vigorously. "Lila isn't all glitter and gold, dude. There's a lot of tension between the girls in class over that sleepover debacle. Mylene told Ivan that Alya isn't being pushy enough in making Lila apologise properly. It's a pity Marinette's fix it attitude hasn't rubbed off on Alya."

"Have you ever considered that maybe Lila won't listen to Alya because she wants there to be a rift?" Adrien suggested contemplatively. "Or worse, a war?"

Nino crossed his arms and stared at where Lila sat on the side of the pool with Alya. He had to suddenly pull his gaze away when he got an eyeful of her and Alya in their scantily clad outfits. "Lila's not that bad. Her rivalry with Marinette is pretty extreme, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't want all out war."

Adrien watched Marinette dip her toes in the pool then shriek about the temperature of the water. "Speaking of rivals, I wonder how Marinette got Chloe to decide to be nice in the first place?"

"Beats me." Nino glanced back at the pool. "It seems like everyone is ready for a swim. We should probably jump in and get wet too."

"Let me just put this drink down and I'll be right with you." Adrien plopped his smoothie down at Nino's table and followed after him.

The boys rushed into the pool taking the opposite approach of Marinette. Marinette squealed as she got splashed by the water displaced by their enthusiasm. Laughter abounded and thoroughly embarrassed Marinette finally made the effort to wade deeper into the pool.

A few races, diving games and water tag later Adrien noticed Kagami watching him apprehensively. Adrien swam up to her to talk to her. "Is something wrong, Kagami? You're barely joining in."

Kagami briefly gazed at the occupants of the pool, particularly Marinette, Chloe and Kim. "As a matter of fact, we need to have a chat, out of the pool."

Adrien tried to pick up what Kagami was looking at but was too slow to see. "Uh, sure."

"Come with me." Kagami ordered as she moved to the edge of the pool.

The duo quietly left the pool and moved out of sight by the farside of the change rooms. Adrien clasped his hands together nervously. "So what's this about?"

Kagami crossed her arms in a stern manner that made Adrien flinch. "First, why are you so chummy with Kim? He got you in trouble with your father. He got our movie night on Friday cancelled."

Adrien laid a hand on Kagami's shoulder to calm her. He had used the same tactic with Marinette before. Surely it would work with Kagami. "Hey, Kim's not all bad. He apologised to me and promised never to upload anything of mine without permission ever again."

Kagami sullenly shrugged Adrien's hand away from her shoulder. "Well, maybe you should have told him to apologise to me too."

Disturbed his reassuring tactic hadn't worked Adrien let his hand flap to his side. "Look, I'll talk to Kim again, but is this really that big a deal? We can have another movie night next Friday instead."

"I can't. I have other obligations for the next month on Fridays." Kagami soured her expression. "This was our last chance for a while. You know how much I was looking forward to this. You know how I thought it could mature our friendship into something more."

The unspoken accusation stung. Kagami was blaming him for letting their opportunity be wasted. Adrien gulped. He felt ambushed and what Kagami wanted from him he couldn't offer her anyway.

"Kagami, I want us to be close, but you know my heart lies elsewhere."

"I figured." Kagami rolled her eyes. "I take it Marinette and Chloe talked to you about what happened at the Ladybug movie premiere."

Adrien didn't notice the implication in the change of subject. "Yes, I'm not surprised Chloe would try something like that. Then again, I am surprised she confessed and apologised for her actions."

Kagami searched Adrien's face. Adrien wasn't sure what she was trying to discern or get an indication of. "Are you certain Chloe is sorry?"

Adrien answered thoughtfully. "Marinette seems to have done what I couldn't and gotten through to her. Hopefully, it sticks."

Kagami frowned indignantly. "Really? Marinette conspired with her if you don't remember. Marinette seems sincere on the surface, but I'm not sure her moral compass is up to scratch."

"Everybody makes mistakes." Adrien countered. "Marinette might occasionally take some time to admit to them, but she always fixes her mistakes."

Kagami conceded the point. "You know her better than I do. I'll take your word for it."

As if summoned by the topic of their conversation Marinette came around the corner and approached them. "Adrien, Kagami, Ondine will be on her break soon so we're going to play some water polo in a bit. We're having some snacks before we hop back in."

Adrien uncomfortably watched the two girls in front of him. He hoped Marinette hadn't heard their current discussion. "Uh…"

"Go ahead," Kagami playfully shoved Adrien towards the pool. "Marinette, if you don't mind can I have a word with you before we get back to everyone?"

"Of course!" Marinette smiled shyly as Adrien left them to chat.

"I'll get straight to the point. Why did you work with Chloe on that prank." Kagami demanded an answer.

Marinette flustered at the sudden interrogation. "Jealous...crush...I wasn't good enough yet you were...couldn't stand seeing it."

"You saw me as a rival for Adrien's affection but something changed. What made you decide to apologize." Kagami intuitively picked her next question.

Marinette sighed. "I first started feeling guilty after Lila got you akumatized. It got worse when I decided teaching Chloe to be good could undermine Lila's lying ways. That's when I knew I needed to apologize."

"Confessing risked Adrien's ire, but helping Chloe was more important and you needed me as an ally." Kagami realized as the gears turned in her mind. Kagmi's cold calculating eyes gained a glint of satisfaction. Marinette could only wonder what the ice queen was planning. "You're forgiven, but if you want my help proving Chloe can be nice and Lila can't, get Ladybug to recruit Chloe as a hero again."

"WHAT?" Marinette was taken aback by the ultimatum. With her identity exposed, Master Fu would only let Marinette choose Chloe to be a hero under extreme circumstances. "That's impossible! Hawkmoth knows her identity. Ladybug will never endanger Chloe like that."

"I never said she had to be Queen Bee." Kagami hinted with a smirk.

"Oh, that won't be too hard." Marinette conceded bashfully. In fact it could be incredibly easy if Marinette gave in to temptation. All she would have to do is convince Master Fu that it was a viable plan. Not that Marinette would cheat her way through Kagami's bargain. The intention was for Chloe to prove herself worthy to Ladybug but it might be better if Cat Noir was making the judgment with Marinette's conflict of interest.

"Let's go join the others before we miss out on afternoon tea." Kagami suggested bringing the conversation to a close.

Marinette followed Kagami back to the tables. When they reached the tables Marinette saw red. Lila, with her cheeks full like a chipmunk's, sat at the end of a table looking quite pleased with herself. In front of her the box formerly containing Kagami's macarons lay open with nothing but crumbs remaining.

As Lila quickly swallowed Marinette stormed up to her in anger, alarming her classmates to a rapidly spiraling situation. "You greedy, selfish, thieving rat! Those macarons were a gift for Kagami! How could you?"

"Oh, I had no idea! I'm so sorry!" Lila dramatically gasped. "I couldn't eat the raspberry ones. I have an allergy and I don't have money left to buy more snacks."

"That's my fault. Lila said you had different macarons in your purse. I was just trying to be helpful." Alya admitted to having been the one to go through Marinette's things.

"You went through my purse? Why didn't you just offer to buy something for Lila?" Marinette expressed incredulously before remembering Lila's choice of smoothie on the table that sat within arms reach near Lila. "A mixed berry smoothie from Smooth Juice has raspberries in it. Lila, why on earth didn't you tell the staff when you ordered your smoothie?"

Lila waved dismissively. "I'm a regular. They know to take the raspberries out by now."

"Jake didn't say anything to me about an allergy." Ondine speaks up, interrupting the argument from the table with the raspberry macarons. "I guess it's a good thing I forgot the raspberries anyway. As a side note, we have plenty of snack options at Smooth Juice without raspberries and I would have been happy to let you use my staff discount."

"We're sorry, but we wouldn't have taken the macarons without permission if we knew they were for a gift." Alya attempted to diffuse the situation on Lila's behalf. "We'll make it up to you by helping you make more."

At this point Chloe came back to the tables from a phone call. "What's happening? I thought we were going to play water polo."

"Alya was just apologizing for going through my purse and letting Lila eat all the macarons

we baked for Kagami over an alleged allergy." Marinette grumbled.

"Wait, Chloe helped to make those?" Alya asked in stunned disbelief.

"Yes, and the raspberry ones too." Chloe's tone soured, expressing just how much she didn't appreciate Alya's implied insult. Chloe paused for a moment then insightfully added, "Not that I'm one to talk, but that was really uncalled for to take those macarons."

"Lila is allergic to raspberries!" Alya unhelpfully reminded them.

"So?" Chloe challenged with her hands on her hips.

"What were we supposed to do? She needed an alternative. Lila shouldn't have to miss out on afternoon tea because the food will make her sick." Alya reasoned poorly, obliviously unaware that she came off as deliberately ignoring Ondine.

"Are you that ignorant or is that Lila's arrogance talking?" Marinetted asked Alya exasperatedly. "No one said Lila should miss out! There were other solutions and yet instead you went through my purse and took something that didn't belong to you."

"I wasn't going to burden Alya to spend more money when there was an easy alternative." Lila spoke in a falsely sweet voice before Alya could answer Marinette. "I don't see what the big deal is. We offered to help you make more."

"While I appreciate the offer, I wouldn't settle for anything less than Marinette and Chloe's handiwork." Lila's fake smile disappeared as Kagami entered the discussion. "It would be rude to ask them to redo their hard work, however, so a monetary fix seems the best solution to this disagreement."

Kagami's negotiation allowed Alya to guiltily fail to respond to Marinette. She saw the opportunity to settle the argument. "Sure, I guess we can pay you back some time."

"I'm collecting now." Kagami demanded harshly.

"Lila doesn't have any money left!" Alya objected sharply.

"Then she can be in your debt. We're barely friends. I have no confidence you will abide by my terms later." Kagami had no time for excuses. She turned to the bakers' daughter. "Marinette, what would the macarons have cost if they were sold in your parents' bakery?"

"Well, umm, are you sure this is what you want?" Marinette spluttered. Lila obviously set up the argument to make Alya upset at being painted as the bad guy. Even though Kagami said she wouldn't help until Ladybug made Chloe a hero again, her interference had just made Lila a burden on Alya. At Kagami's nod Marinette named a price for the macarons.

After Alya begrudgingly handed over the money to Kagami, everyone soon headed back for the pool. Water polo seemed to get everyone calmed down again for a few goals. Then Lila distracted her team with a story from a charity she worked with. "So Felicia comes up and starts verbally abusing me because I took a five minute break to rest my ankles. How does someone like that even get to be team captain of a Salvation Army Corp."

Marinette couldn't believe her ears. Barely ten minutes had passed and Lila was already spinning tales. The game had become lopsided as Marinette was the only one on Lila's team putting in any effort.

Luka, having stepped out of the pool to retrieve the ball Lila's team had let bounce out in their inattention, stopped in recognition of the name. "Did you just say this team captain's name was Felicia?"

"Yes, the girl was absolutely horrid to me. One time she…" Lila continued blabbering on.

"I'm not listening to this." Luka growled, taking his sister's arm and tugging Juleka out of the water. "Come on, Juleka, we're leaving."

"Ow!" Surprised by his sudden roughness Juleka pulled her arm out of Luka's grasp. "What are you doing, Luka. That hurt!"

"Sorry, but I'm not standing around to let you be twisted by that manipulator!" Luka pointed aggressively at Lila.

"What's your problem with Lila?" Juleka shouted back.

"She pressured Alya into stealing Kagami's macarons from Marinette's purse! Or did you not hear that argument?" Luka heatedly exchanged. "And you know as well as I do that Felicia would never act as Lila just described. The less time you spend with a bad influence like her the better."

"I've told you about Lila's amazing life before. You didn't think bad of her then and you certainly didn't say anything about the sleepover at her house on Friday." Juleka protested with clenched fists.

"Lila's sleepover? I thought you were going to Alya's home." Luka seethed angrily. "I would have said something if I'd known. This isn't as newly formed an opinion as you think it is."

"I've spent weeks talking about this sleepover. Lila was in the car when Alya picked me up. You can't tell me you didn't know!" Juleka raised her voice temper flaring.

Marinette fiddled with her hands. The situation was getting out of hand. Apparently Juleka noticed her agitation because she snickered. "You're so blinded by your obsession with your unrequited crushes that you can't see the real people with bad attitudes."

"I'm blind?" Luka yelled in rage. "This isn't about Marinette or Felicia! You're refusing to acknowledge Lila's behaviour." Without pausing Luka recklessly proclaimed, "Lila isn't who you think she is. I saw her pretend to be a victim in an attempt to distract Ladybug and Cat Noir when Webtroller attacked."

A gasp collectively echoed over the pool area. Several heads turned to Lila expecting an explanation. Lila remained silent.

Juleka stood her ground. "You're mistaken. Lila would never do something like that. She is Ladybug's best friend."

Luka snorted. "I know what I saw and it's obvious to anyone with eyes that Cat Noir is Ladybug's best friend."

"It's more likely that Cat Noir was trying to make Ladybug give him her virginity. Lila is Ladybug's best friend." Juleka adamantly denied her brother's claim.

"Actually, Lila and Ladybug's friendship is more complicated than that." Alya bashfully interjected. "They've had a fight over Lila's openness about their connection, a problematic civilian and Cat Noir's fraternising."

"Oh, don't be silly, Alya, that's all water under the bridge now." Lila rushed to defend herself from Alya's big mouth. "I promised to keep an eye on the girl helping Hawk Moth find targets, if Ladybug promised to be safe around Cat Noir. After all I only have Ladybug's best interest in heart and I have ample opportunity to hold a classmate in check." Lila pointedly gazed at Chloe while embellishing her new claim.

Luka turned to confront Lila with steely eyes. Lila returned the staredown daring him to challenge her. Marinette edged closer to the confrontation. She didn't notice Adrien doing the same.

"Prove it!" Luka demanded suddenly.

"What?" Lila deflected innocently.

"You very well know what!" Luka's temper flared.

"Ladybug can't make such an open appearance. Hawk Moth could take advantage of it." Lila fired back.

Luka scoffed and gestured to everyone around. "None of us would tell. We're all trustworthy."

"I can only contact her for emergencies." Lila spat out a poorly thought excuse.

Luka laughed mockingly. "Besides how stupid that is, there's a lot of tension right now. I wouldn't be surprised if someone were akumatized."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was you!" Lila sputtered before her mouth caught up with her brain.

Luka clenched and unclenched his fists. Then he breathed in and out to calm himself.

He took Juleka's hand in his own. "Maybe, Lila, but I bet you couldn't pick Ladybug out if she were in the pool right now. I think that's enough. Let's go, Juleka."

Marinette froze. Did Luka know? He couldn't possibly know! Meanwhile Adrien clambered toward Juleka and Luka but he was still too far away.

"NO!" Juleka twisted Luka's arm and pulled herself free. "Lila's not the enemy. Everyone was having fun until you got in the way!"

Luka hissed as pain shot up his arm. "You can't expect me to stand by when Lila defames my friend while falsely claiming to be close to a superhero!"

"Stop whining! You didn't have to be here! These are my friends! I'm fourteen and I don't need a chaperone! I certainly don't need you telling me what I can do!" Juleka stomped her feet and yelled in Luka's face in a tantrum-like display.

It was so unusual for the quiet girl to lose her cool that everyone was shocked to their core. Marinette rushed as fast as she could out of the pool towards Juleka and Luka. Adrien was two steps away from Luka now but he was still too slow. A dark purple butterfly assimilated itself with Juleka's sunglasses and Hawk Moth's symbol appeared over her eyes.

Juleka shivered involuntarily, but Hawk Moth swayed her as he did all his victims. "Yes, Hawk Moth."

Purple bubbles enveloped Juleka. When they disappeared she was as tall as Luka and her bathing suit had transformed into a black bikini with vertical purple stripes. It wasn't as skimpy as Lila and Alya's bikinis but still left little to the imagination especially with Juleka's now more adult figure.

In her right hand she held a super soaker water gun. She aimed it at Luka. "You're going to apologize to Lila now and make mum buy me that bikini."

Adrien reacted instantaneously and tackled Luka out of the way. The water gun sprayed harmlessly a few feet away. Moving quickly, Marinette positioned herself between Juleka and the boys. "Juleka, this all started when Lila complained about Luka's friend. She only just met Felicia though. Is it possible she misjudged the character of Luka's friend?"

Juleka frowned but Hawk Moth retained control. "It's Control Freak and she broke his heart just like you did! The two of you are the bad girls."

"I've never hurt Luka and he doesn't seem to think Felicia has either." Marinette countered easily, keeping Control Freak's attention on her.

"That's true." Luka confirmed as Adrien helped him to stand.

"Felicia isn't here to defend herself. It isn't fair to take Lila's accusations without a grain of salt." Marinette proposed gently, hoping that maybe this time she could win an akuma over.

Lila refused to take it lying down however and fake sobbed in horror. "You're victim blaming. How could you invalidate my horrible experiences like that!"

"She's right! You're the bully and now you're going to apologize for every bad thing you've ever done!" Control Freak outburst in anger.

Marinette saw Control Freak aim the water gun at her, but what happened next was a blur. She felt herself collide with the ground then almost immediately Chloe was apologizing for knocking her over while simultaneously helping her up. Marinette took stock of her surroundings.

Control Freak had reengaged her weapon on Luka. She fired spray after spray while he dodged nimbly. Adrien was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he slipped away in the commotion.

Chloe was still chattering away to her as well. Obviously, she had taken the hit for Marinette. "Oh, and I'm sorry about the time I spilled paint on the first shirt you ever made by yourself when we were seven."

"That's okay. Go help Luka and I'll try to find Ladybug." Marinette stopped her apologies and overrode them with a new order.

"There's no need, I've put up an alert and Lila's texted Ladybug already." Alya coldly informed her as Chloe took off to help Luka. "You shouldn't have taken Luka's side. You antagonized her."

"I reasoned with Juleka." Marinette corrected Alya. "I doubt Ladybug has seen the alert yet. If you don't mind I'm going to spread the word."

With that Marinette split off for the girls change room. When appropriately hidden she called for her transformation. "Tikki, Spots On!"

Ladybug wasted no time and flipped her yoyo open to call Cat Noir. "Cat Noir, I'm sending you my coordinates. There's an active akuma here with a short temper."

"Already there." Cat responded cheerily, turning the camera on his baton to show Control Freak chasing Chloe and Luka away from the pool.

"What, how?" Ladybug questioned, totally flabbergasted.

"A classmate of the akuma flagged me down while running to hide." Cat Noir supplied an explanation.

"Huh, same for me. What a coincidence!" Ladybug remarked. "I'm on my way."

Ladybug sprinted back to the pool to find Cat Noir being dog piled by her classmates. She relieved him by tugging a couple away from him with her yoyo. With enough room to maneuver Cat freed himself. "Thanks, Milady, this kitten was almost in a whole 'litter' trouble."

"Any time, Kitty." Ladybug said as she helped incapacitate the mind controlled victims. "Where did the akuma go?"

Cat Noir pointed a claw at the pool gate. "She jumped over the gate and the next building. Why can they always leap as high as a building in a single bound?"

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, you showed up quickly!" The heroes were drawn to the attention of Kagami who pointed out the oddity of the circumstance of which they appeared.

"We were flagged down by classmates of Hawk Moth's victim." Ladybug cautiously informed the Japanese girl. Ladybug glanced at the incapacitated classmates then back at Kagami. "You seem unaffected by Control Freak. I assume you didn't get hit."

"I avoided that fate, yes." Kagami confirmed. Kagami smirked and added, "It appears Hawk Moth wanted control of those hit by Control Freak's water gun and it backfired on him. The magic makes the target obedient but not solely to Juleka. Chloe got hit earlier and Marinette gave her contradicting orders which she followed."

Ladybug's eyes lit up as she pondered the significance of the information. "Interesting…"

"Milady, I don't want to rush you but the Ladyblogger and our not so friendly Italian friend followed Control Freak while I was down." Cat Noir pressured for urgency.

"Of course, we need to reach Control Freak before they give her more targets." Ladybug brought her mind back to focus on the task at hand and readied her yoyo. "Thanks, Kagami, but we'd best be on our way."

"Always a pleasure." Kagami nodded at the heroes.

As the duo launched after Control Freak, Cat Noir saluted Kagami. Ladybug noticed the strange interaction. When they neared their objective Ladybug broached the subject, "If you're trying to move on from me, Kagami isn't a great choice. I'm pretty sure she's dating the model boy on all the billboards."

"I think Adrien Agreste is just her friend, but I wasn't flirting anyway." Cat Noir denied Ladybug's perception of the interaction. Then grinning cheekily he asked, "Are you jealous, Milady?"

"Not how you think." Ladybug muttered in response.

Cat Noir didn't expect an admission like that and he didn't know how to interpret it ethier from his confused follow up. "What does that mean?"

Ladybug didn't answer. Instead she surveyed the street below. Control Freak had gathered a following, but Kagami's clue appeared to be correct. Hawk Moth had some control over the akuma's victims. The victims were violent and smashing objects in the street such as cars, road signs and store windows. If they didn't hurry a bystander could get hurt in the chaos.

"What's the plan?" She heard Cat Noir ask behind her.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called spinning her yoyo into the air. Out of the sky four bath towels and a ridiculously sized drain plug fell into her hands. Looking back down to the street she tried to figure out what the items were for.

Her attention was drawn to a fire hydrant, Control Freak and then to Alya, Lila and Chloe who were all still in just their bikinis. Chloe had an excuse since her escape with Luka had left little opportunity to return to normal garb. Alya and Lila, however, had probably decided to film the akuma without any forethought to how they were exposing themselves.

"Cat Noir, use your cataclysm and smash the hydrant open. The water will wash the obedience spray off and free the victims. I'll draw them to you." Ladybug ordered. "I know what the towels are for but the plug is still a mystery. I might need assistance getting down with all this stuff."

Cat Noir leaned to the right so Ladybug could sling her arm over his shoulders. "Whenever you're ready, Milady."

Ladybug tied the plug to her back with her yoyo, threw the towels over her right arm and to her partner's surprise wrapped her left arm around his waist. "Allons-y!"

The heroic duo descended to the street using Cat Noir's baton. Once there Cat Noir raced for the hydrant while Ladybug pushed forward into the center of the action. Ladybug leaped atop the roof of a car and loudly declared, "If you're under the akuma's spell make your way to me and I'll free you from Hawk Moth's control!"

Chloe doubled back to Ladybug dragging Luka with her. Control Freak screamed in anger as her minions deserted her. "No, I'm the one in charge! Bring my brother to me so I can make him obey!"

"Hawk Moth gave you the power to make people obedient, Juleka, but not to just yourself. He wanted to make sure he could take the Miraculous if you fell out of line. Fortunately, he slipped up and anyone can command your victims." Ladybug announced triumphantly.

Hawk Moth's symbol fell over Control Freak's face again and he spoke through her, "How devious of you, Ladybug, but I won't fall for your childish trap. You've left your precious kitten exposed so instead my loyal followers will take his Miraculous first."

As planned all the civilians under the obedience spell rushed towards the fire hydrant. Alya and Lila called out an unnecessary warning to Cat Noir. Cat Noir waited until the absolute last second and activated his ability. "Cataclysm!"

A fountain of water sprayed into the air showering everyone nearby. All of the people under the obedience spell were washed clean. They looked around in confusion at the carnage still in the area.

"This is just a minor inconvenience. I can make new followers." Control Freak fretted and aimed her weapon at a target down the street away from the burst fire hydrant.

"Not today!" Ladybug threw the towels at Control Freak. Control Freak was momentarily stunned and the water gun got knocked out of her hands. It clattered uselessly to the ground.

Ladybug sprinted forward charging Control Freak to take her akumatized item and break it. She passed Cat Noir and heard him saying something to Alya and Lila. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him scramble into action as if there were a danger behind her.

"Oof!" Ladybug groaned as her partner tackled her to the ground out of harm's way. Behind her the car she had stood on had been transformed into a tank. A second more and she would have been blasted by a spray of the obedience spell.

"Sorry, Milady." Cat Noir apologised as he helped her up. "It would have been 'pawful' if the sentimonster got you."

"I hope you didn't think it was going to be that easy." Control Freak mocked their predicament with a vicious laugh.

Ladybug blinked. Juleka's sunglasses and her armband glowed with a ladybug pattern. The tank's cannon also glowed in the same way. She knew what to do.

Ladybug untied the plug from her back and flung it at the tank with her yoyo. The plug lodged in the cannon. Ladybug smiled. "Of course it's that easy."

Control Freak growled when the tank didn't fire straight away. "What are you waiting for? They're completely vulnerable!"

As if on cue the pressure built up inside the tank and the cannon burst. Ladybug and Cat Noir nimbly dived out of the way. A gush of water slammed into Control Freak causing her to stumble and break both sunglasses and armband.

Juleka whipped her head around frantically. "We're not at the pool. Did Hawk Moth get me?"

Luka wrapped her in a hug not minding that his sister was still wet from the tank's explosion. "I'm sorry I was harsh earlier. Lila rubs me the wrong way and I only wanted to protect you."

Ladybug caught the feather and butterfly as they flew out and purified them. Next she took up the plug and tossed it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" The tank reverted back to a car, the windows of shop fronts were restored and the fire hydrant was fixed.

Catching Lila's scowl, Luka picked up one of the towels and handed it to his sister while he directed her back to the pool. "Come on, Juleka, I think it's time you heard Felicia's side of the story. And I have to tell you about the birthday present that hasn't arrived yet."

Juleka pulled her hair away from her eyes to reveal her excitement. "You got me another present!"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." Luka implied as he led her away.

The beeping of her Miraculous reminded Ladybug of the time. She had to get back to the pool before her mother arrived to pick her up. Turning to Cat Noir, she asked, "Can you handle things from here? As much as I'd love to stick around someone is expecting me."

Cat Noir nodded. "No problem, Milady."

Ladybug made a point of eyeing Alya and Lila with disapproval. "Make sure those two get covered up."

Alya and Lila looked down at their state of attire. They blushed at realising they were standing in a very public street in just their skimpy bikinis. Chloe reminded everyone of her presence by commenting, "If I'd known I was going to run into the street, I would have put a shirt on to preserve my dignity. I suppose you can't help it when under the influence of an akuma."

Alya shamefully fiddled with her camera. She had exposed herself on a street full of people. She quickly snatched one of the towels Cat Noir was picking up.

Before leaving Ladybug made one last remark, "I quite like your outfit, Chloe. It's very Queen Bee and yet it has some modesty to it unlike others."

With that she swung off on her yoyo. Ladybug made sure to give the appearance of a roundabout route so she wouldn't be seen heading back to the swimming pool. She quietly dropped down by the change rooms and de-transformed.

Marinette changed to her normal clothes and gathered her stuff. She was almost at the entrance of the pool area when she bumped into Adrien. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there."

Adrien took stock of the items she was carrying. "You're leaving already?"

"My mum is going to be here soon. I have to be ready to go when she arrives. All the arguing took the fun out anyway." Marinette told him by way of explanation.

"Have you talked to Juleka yet?" Adrien asked sensing Marinette's discomfort.

"No, I didn't think she and Luka would stick around after Lila's nonsense." Marinette awkwardly shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"Juleka insisted on speaking with you before leaving." Adrien informed her. As an afterthought he added, "Lila has made some enemies today, but some people are still swayed by her insistence that she is protecting Ladybug from Cat Noir's 'ill intentions'."

"Cat Noir is a perfect gentleman. He would never hurt Ladybug." Marinette instinctively refuted the irrational idea.

"Exactly!" Adrien agreed, showing his disgust at the notion of Cat Noir hurting Ladybug.

"Well, I should go find Juleka." Marinette gracefully exited the conversation.

Adrien said a goodbye and went off in his own direction. Marinette walked around the pool and found Juleka. Juleka had a remorseful expression on her face when she saw Marinette. "There you are! I was worried you had already left."

"Adrien said you needed to talk to me." Marinette simply responded.

"I was absolutely horrid to you today." Juleka humbly admitted. "I wanted to offer my apologies and ask for forgiveness. I don't really deserve it."

Marinette sighed. "It's okay, Juleka. I apologised to Adrien and Kagami today over something I did months ago. It would be hypocritical of me not to forgive you when they forgave me."

"That's why you were so upset about the macarons for Kagami!" Juleka realised with a darkening frown. "Lila ruined your apology, didn't she?"

Before Marinette could respond, Juleka started ranting, "Luka's late birthday surprise for me is a bikini. I was so jealous of everyone else and I was getting one anyway. Alya, Lila and Chloe, to a lesser extent, are already getting lewd comments on their social media for their exposure during my time as Control Freak. Nino thought Alya's outfit was inappropriate for a public outing and their relationship is now on the rocks…"

"Whoa, slow down, Juleka!" Marinette desperately tried to indicate the long-haired girl was overwhelming her.

"I thought I was mature enough to have a bikini, but now I'm not sure I want one." Juleka continued after taking a breath. "Luka called Felicia for me. Lila did interact with her. There were no witnesses but it was nothing like how Lila described from Felicia's perspective. After the sleepover debacle and all this, I think I know who I trust more."

"You know what I think about Lila but what about the rest of the class?" Marinette cautiously asked.

"Apart from Kitty Section, no one else knows my brother well enough to trust his judgment and even then Rose is refusing to budge."

"Hmm…" Marinette pondered for a solution. An idea flashed into her mind. Not only would it counter Lila but it could give Chloe an opportunity to prove herself. "We should get everyone to volunteer too. Then they can see for themselves what Felicia is really like."

"Who's Felicia?" The voice of Marinette's mother behind Marinette startled her.

"Maman, you scared me!" Marinette almost dropped her bag.

"Hello, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng," Juleka greeted, then proceeded to answer her question, "Felicia is one of Luka's friends. She and Lila volunteer with the Salvation Army."

"And Lila doesn't have a high opinion of her, but you want your classmates to form their own judgments." Mrs. Dupain-Cheng surmised from what she had heard of the discussion.

"Yes, if we volunteer together, everyone can meet Felicia first hand themselves instead of hearing about her second hand. It would also be a good life experience for the class." Marinette concluded.

"It sounds like an excellent idea, but maybe you should talk to your teacher tomorrow to help organise it." Mrs Dupain Cheng advised. "In the meantime, Marinette, we should get home and help your father clean up the bakery."

"Oh, right," Marinette said remembering Sunday was their cleaning day before starting up for the next week. She waved goodbye to Juleka. "I guess I'll see you at school, Juleka."

"Goodbye, Marinette." Juleka waved back.

Marinette left the swimming pool with her mother. On the ride home a thought occurred to her. Cat Noir had been right. She hadn't firmly pushed enough the concept that Ladybug and Lila weren't friends. Now Lila was disparaging her partner's reputation. Ladybug needed to expose her.

**Author's notes: With the bikini subplot I wanted to draw to attention the very different home situations and parenting styles we've seen in the show. I think it justifies for my story why some of the girls might not be allowed to wear more revealing swimming attire or why some could get away with it. Many of the teens are missing a parent (not yet depicted or strangely absent), Adrien and Kagami have a very strict single parent, Juleka and Luka's mother is the opposite but with an apparent low opinion of men and Chloe's parents can't even be bothered trying**

**Kagami and Luka despite Marinette's fears are not aware of her identity as Ladybug yet. Lila is vulnerable but she still has a few tricks up her sleeve. Chloe will soon embark on her path to becoming a better person.**

**Next Chapter: Master Fu has some news. Ladybug visits Nadja Chamack. Marinette makes a mistake. Adrien finds out Lila's infamy has spread to other classes. Adrien calls for a meeting with the rest of the Kitty Section band. Ladybug and Cat Noir meet to discuss Lila.**


End file.
